TMNT - Unlinked Chain
by The Duelist of the Rose
Summary: Leo, Mikey, Raph and Donnie are thrust into a bad situation. When they wake in a foreign land, they are captured, chained and soon separated. While Michelangelo lies ill, Leonardo gets examined, Raphael gets beaten, and Donatello is left in the hands of the Lady who, in one way or another, is responsible for their woes. As factions clash, the turtles are caught right in the middle!
1. Separation Anxiety

Hello! While I have written many stories over the years, this is my first TMNT fan fiction. So, I can't wait to get knee-deep into the tale!

For the record, I want to invite you to imagine whichever version of the turtles you like best; personally, I'm imagining the turtles from the 2k7 Imagi movie (with some inspiration from the 2k3 Mirage series), using the weapons featured in the 2k12 Nick series. ^_-; _Uhh,_ yeah...

I'm rating this story T for Teen just to be on the safe side. Rated for: mild bloodshed, angst, and hair-raising/sticky situations.

XD I hope you enjoy!

* * *

**TMNT **

**Unlinked Chain**

**Chapter 1: Separation Anxiety**

It happened again. The lives of the four mutant turtle brothers Leonardo, Donatello, Michelangelo and Raphael had once again been interrupted by cosmic forces. What seemed like what was to be an ordinary day in the Lair turned out to be anything but.

Master Splinter heard it from his room, a popping sound. At first the old rat thought the sound was little more than an activity one or more of his sons was engaged in. But when the popping grew louder and stretched into the ominous howl of an incredible wind he knew something was wrong.

Before the sensai could reach the door to his room, he heard the voices of his sons' crying out in alarm and fear. A powerful gust plowed into him as he slid the door to his room aside, and he staggered as he recovered his balance. "My sons!" he cried as he pulled himself forward.

There, in the center of the high Lair ceiling was a great funnel of light, swirling and roaring with power. And there were the four turtles, clinging to each other in an awkward chain as the raging funnel attempted to suck them into its maw.

Raphael was the one closest to the ground, having stabbed into the floor with one of his sai. While holding to this anchor Raph was also keeping his other arm around Leo who, in turn, was holding onto Donnie's wrist and Mikey's ankle. "Hold on!" Leo commanded his two youngest brothers.

"To what?!" screamed Mikey, "You're the one who's got my leg!"

"Boys!" called Splinter, clinging to the doorframe of his room.

"Father!" cried Leo, struggling to keep hold of his brothers.

Quickly assessing the situation, Master Splinter called out to Michelangelo. "Take out your kusarigama!" he bellowed, "Throw the end to me!"

Mikey gulped while his body swayed in the winds, and reached for his belt. Pulling loose the chain, Mikey twirled the weighted end and threw it towards his sensai. Splinter caught it but reaching out allowed the pressure of the wind to sweep him away from his door. He skidded a ways before catching himself.

"Master!" cried his boys. Splinter regained his balance and fought to get back to his door, his four sons looking on all the while. Raphael gritted his teeth, groaning, for his grip on his sai was weakening, the sweat from his green palm making the hilt of his sai slick.

Leonardo could feel this, and, over the roar of the winds, shouted: "Hold on Raph!"

Raphael clenched his teeth. "What's it look like I'm doin'?!" he barked back.

Donatello looked 'round, he and Leonardo locking eyes for a moment. "Just hold on!" called Leo, "Everything's going to be okay!"

"Then why do I feel like the exact opposite is true?" wailed Donnie.

Michelangelo gripped his kusarigama tighter and smiled as his father rat was finally able to reach the safety of his room, still with the chain in hand. "Hold on my sons!"

Just then, the whole group felt themselves jerk towards the whirling vortex. "Argh!" growled Raphael, struggling to maintain his grip, but the muscles of his hand and arm had begun to tremble with fatigue. "Can't—!" he was saying.

Leo gritted his teeth. 'If _only_ I could draw my katana, Raph wouldn't have to hold us all!' His mind came to a solution of a sudden. "Don!" he hollered, "Hold on to my leg!"

"_What?!_"

"I need you to let go of my hand and hold onto my leg! _Hurry_! NOW."

Reluctantly Donatello let go of Leo's hand, slipping down Leo's leg a ways before catching a decent hold. A momentary shiver ran through him as he realized there was very little between him and dimensional oblivion.

Splinter began pulling, pulling with all his might; he saw Leonardo drawing out one of his katanas and realized, at the same moment Leo did, that the turtle in blue really wasn't at the proper angle to drive his blade into the floor.

"I'm—_sorry_," hissed Raphael, his body shaking with the strain, "I—_can't_—!"

All the turtles yelped as Raph's hand slipped from his sai. Their world spun out around them as they were immediately drawn upward. Master Splinter gasped as he was ripped forth from his room, still clutching the weighted end of Mikey's chain. But he crashed against one of the lair's pillars, the chain yanked from his clawed hands. "NO!" he cried, looking up from where he had fallen. But his sons were already gone.

* * *

Leonardo winced: somebody was poking him in the shoulder with something sharp. He opened his eyes, and saw the point of a pike very close to his face. He immediately slapped the weapon away, jerking up into a sitting position; he saw at once that he and his brothers had been surrounded by several human men dressed in armor. But he was the only one who had awoken; the other three were still unconscious.

"What _are_ they?" asked one man approaching the group with the look of complete curiosity on his face.

"I don't know." replied the man holding the pike.

Leo gritted his teeth as he brought his feet underneath him. "You could just ask." he said, rising.

The men blinked. "Well," said another man standing somewhere behind Leo, "least we know they can talk."

"If they can talk," said the man with the pike, "Then they can answer questions." Leo was getting the impression that this man was in charge of the others. "What are you?" asked the man, "And why are you here?"

Leo's brow hardened slightly, and he blinked. "We are turtles. And I don't know _why_ we're here. A magical vortex picked us up and brought us here, wherever here is."

The men continued to stare at the turtles, but only the gaze of the man holding the pike seemed hard, though not altogether unfriendly. Leo's heart was thumping; he wished his brothers would awaken, for he knew he would be hard put to it to defend them if the need arose. Indeed, he counted a dozen armored men in total.

"Well," said the lead man, "This is her Lady IraVana's land. And we are charged to bring anyone, man or beast, who crosses her land _to_ her. You and your fellow _turtles_ are no exception."

Leo glanced at the men out of the corners of his eyes. "We have no problem abiding by the rules of your land. However, if your Lady wishes to do us harm, then I will have no choice but to defend myself and my brothers."

There was something of a pause before some of the men loosed scoffing chuckles. Leonardo felt himself tensing already.

"No harm, turtle. Her Ladyship only wishes to keep account of those who would make their way through her land, and has a need to see you in person."

"Very well." answered Leo, then turning. He knelt and took hold of Michelangelo's arm. "Mikey, _hey_, wake up."

The man with the pike noticed the two scabbards strapped to Leo's back; only one still had a sword in it. "You won't be needing this when you go before her Ladyship—" As he pulled Leo's katana free the turtle immediately spun, grabbing his arm. Yet just as Leo took back his blade, four men seized him which then allowed their leader to resume claiming Leo's katana.

"That's my sword!" growled Leonardo, straining against those who had taken hold of him. He suddenly wondered where his other blade was.

"You do not need to be armed when you meet her Ladyship." clarified the man.

"Oh _man_," whispered Michelangelo, having seen the man disarm his brother. Mikey quickly turned and started shaking both Donnie and Raph. "Guys!"

A great deal of worry came upon the youngest of the turtles as one of the armored men then noticed the bo staff at Donatello's back. "Dude!" exclaimed Mikey, as the man promptly took the staff. The turtle in orange immediately reached out for Donnie's weapon, but another of the men drew forth a sword and forced Mikey to recoil.

"Don't hurt them!" demand Leo, "We're not here to fight!"

"W-what?" asked Donnie, groggily looking around.

Raphael sat up just as two men stepped forward and took hold of Mikey; they stood him up, just noticing his nunchakus. "Are these your weapons?" they asked, reaching for them.

"No, don't take those!" called Michelangelo.

Raphael's eyes widened; he took in everything at once: Leo was being restrained, Mikey was being disarmed, Donnie was in no position to fight, and now some men were coming towards _him_. A flame ignited in his breast— in a split second he had sprung into the air, kicking into the men that had appeared on either side of him. He dropped low, kicking the legs out from under two more men.

"Raph!" called Leo, understanding the situation could turn very bad for them very quickly.

Raphael drew out his sai, realizing then that he had only one. He twirled it into the face of a man coming up at his shoulder, and instantly dropkicked another man flat to the ground. The turtle terror then whipped around, slashing into the arm of one man and into the leg of another.

"Raph stop!" commanded Leo.

The man with the pike grit his teeth, and pulled a dirk from his belt. "Stop your assault you fiend-turtle or your brothers die!"

Raph's gaze shot backward over his shoulder, and he froze. All three of his brothers had blades against their throats; in fact, the blades were sharp enough to have already drawn blood: a small trail of crimson was running down Donnie's neck. Raph turned, clenching his sai in his fist. "_You dirty_—!" he snarled.

Five of the men Raphael had been fighting immediately tackled him to the ground. They shoved his face into the dirt, and fought to restrain him; eventually they got their manacles around his wrists and ankles. He growled venomously as they got up off him.

The men's leader put his dirk away and looked at the other three terrapins. "Yes," he said, "We'd better do that to all of them. No telling what these creatures are capable of after _that_ display."

Leo, Mikey and Donnie were shoved down against the ground. "Why are you doing this?" barked the turtle in blue, "We didn't come here to fight!"

"Well, you could've put one over on me!" snapped the pikeman, holding an open hand toward Raphael. Leo shut his eyes. Why was this happening? WHY?

When he opened his eyes again, he saw both Donnie and Mikey were staring at him; their eyes were filled with apprehension and they were looking to him for some kind of solace. Leo softened the worried frown creasing his own green-skinned face, and mouthed: _don't worry_.

The turtles were soon yanked up from the ground and loaded into the back of a steel-wheeled buckboard; two men sat up in the seat at its head and made ready to move with the troop. Very soon the man with the pike gave the order to return to the Manor of the Lady, and each man mounted his horse and started off.

The turtles found the trail rough and hard considering they hadn't been allowed to sit up and were instead laying one next to the other like sardines in a can. Raphael glowered at their captors, that is, until he heard Donatello coughing behind him. He craned his neck back to see his little brother. "You okay Donnie?"

Donatello cleared his throat. "Considering I'm shackled in the back of a primitive transport headed who-knows-where for who-knows-why…I could be better." Donnie started coughing again.

Raphael didn't care for the sarcasm, but neither was he willing to chide Donatello for it. He turned back, looking over Michelangelo toward his big brother Leo. "Leo," he said in a loud whisper, "What're we gonna do?"

Leo pulled against his chains for a moment. "Use our heads." he answered, "The way we are at the moment we're in no position to fight back. We can't risk ticking these guys off anymore then we already have."

"_Them_ ticked?" riled Raph, "OH if they think _they're_ ticked, they ain't seen nothin' yet! _I'll show 'em ticked!_"

"But not now!" growled Leo. Raphael grit this teeth and reluctantly controlled himself. That's when the turtles realized all the men in the troop were glaring at them. Each turtle except Michelangelo glared back, and it was only then that the three oldest turtles realized how very quiet their baby brother was being.

"Mikey?" asked Leo. Mikey didn't immediately respond, which prompted Raph to nudge him in the back of the head. "Yo Mikey, you okay bro?"

The buckboard went over a large bump causing the turtles' heads to bounce up before slamming back down against the floor. They groaned through gritted teeth. "What, couldn't afford no stinkin' shock absorbers?" grumbled Raphael.

"I'm sorry bros," piped up Michelangelo of a sudden, "I just, don't feel very good."

Mikey's brothers blinked, glancing at one another. "What's wrong?"

"I just feel, kinda, sick…" muttered the turtle in orange, shutting his eyes.

Leo tried to turn over in order to face Mikey, but quickly realized there wasn't enough room. He grit his teeth, turning his face instead. "Don't worry Mikey, we'll get this sorted out once we see their Lady."

"Indeed we will." came the voice of the pikeman. He was riding up alongside the buckboard carrying his pike close to him. The turtles eyed him, as indeed he eyed them.

Leonardo cleared his throat and spoke up. "What is your name?"

The man cocked an eyebrow, and was silent for a good long while, eyes moving from the road to the turtle and back again. "M'name's Winsul." he said finally, "And you, turtleman?"

Leo paused before responding. "My name is Leonardo. We don't want trouble with your people, we only want the freedom to go our own way."

"Don't we all." mumbled the man; he then shook his head as if to banish the comment. "Your name is from the Dead Language," he said informatively, "Yet you speak in the New Tongue. How is this?"

Donatello blinked, frowning. "Dead language? It's _Italian_. Even Spanish if you want to get technical."

"We don't wanna get technical!" snapped Raph, causing Donnie to sigh and look away. The frowns of several men in the troop deepened whenever Raphael spoke, especially those whose blood he'd drawn — and their anger towards him grew.

"I'm not sure I can answer your question." replied Leo, "We're not from this land. Come to think of it, this probably isn't even our world."

Winsul shrugged. "Everything will be sorted out once we reach the Manor." He pointed with his pike. "It's yonder."

Donnie, Raph and Leo craned their necks to see. The men called it a manor, but it looked more like a castle, and it stood like a mountain sprawled across the landscape. All at once the turtles realized they could hear their hearts thumping in their chests — they had arrived.

* * *

The Grand Hall was grand indeed. The ceiling seemed almost as high as the sky, and light poured in through the massive windows, reflecting off the slightly gray stone. There were deep red drapes hanging from every possible eave, and there were little candles burning low on small perches every so often.

The turtles would've been more dazzled, that is, had they not been in chains. They were brought to the end of the immense chamber where there were three grand chairs: one to the left, one to the right, and one straight ahead and it was the biggest of the three. The chairs faced a large sunken area in the floor, and it was down in this sunken area that the turtles were deposited.

They were lined up in a row on their knees; then the guards retreated. The turtles looked to one another, the three older ones realizing Michelangelo still didn't look quite himself. "Mikey?" asked Leo.

"How're you feeling Mikey?" quizzed Donnie.

"I dun'know, better I guess." replied the youngest of the brothers; he still looked ill. Raph and Leo frowned.

"Well where's the dame that runs this joint?" hissed Raphael, "We gotta get outta here."

Leonardo nodded. "I know." He looked up toward the big chair, and started in surprise — there was now a woman seated there.

Her hair was mostly dark, though her bangs were light brown; her eyes were a piercing green and her lips a dull pink. Her build was lean and yet something about her was strangely intimidating. The Lady looked over at Winsul who came down the steps into the sunken area and stood behind the turtles. "What have you to report?" she asked.

Winsul opened his hands toward the four terrapin brothers. "We found these creatures on your land Ladyship."

"What are they?"

"We're turtles lady!" snapped Raph, "And we ain't happy!"

The Lady looked down into Raphael's face. "You are very confident to speak so boldly. But, are you as strong as you think I wonder."

Raph looked confused; he would have asked what she meant had Winsul not made an interjection. "Indeed," said the man, "Out of the four, _he_ is the only one who attacked my men."

"Did he now? Well, that was very rude, and very _unwise_."

Leo took a quick breath in and out. Something about the tone in her voice made Leo think of a blade's sharp edge. He shook his head and gave Raphael a noticeable nudge. "That's my brother all over, ma'am. But he thought we were under attack. We came onto your land by accident. Please, we didn't mean any harm."

The Lady studied Leo for a moment.

"Please, release us." said Leonardo, "We will cause you no further trouble, and will leave your land at once."

"I cannot let you go until I know if there is some meaning behind your arrival."

The turtles blinked. "Meaning?"

Before the Lady could explain, a small girl came bouncing forward from somewhere at the back and stopped beside the large chair. "Ooo!" she said, as the reptilian ninjas caught her eye, "What are _they_?"

"They are turtles." informed the Lady.

The girl's eyes widened suddenly as she smiled. "_Oh_! Can I have one?" she was bouncing with excitement, "Can I? Can I please!"

"What?!" exclaimed the turtles.

The Lady gave a slight shrug. "For a little while, I suppose, if it pleases you."

"Bu—wait!" began Leo, but the little girl had already come down into sunken area to look at them.

"Be careful the one in red, Rynnie," warned the Lady, "He's already attacked some of the guard."

This warning prompted the little girl to look straight at Raphael; she frowned and stuck her tongue out at him. "_Hmph_! That one's ugly anyway!"

"Ugly?!" sounded Raph.

Leo immediately gave him a light head-butt in the jaw. "_Don't_ make things worse than they already _are_, Raph."

Raphael glared, hissing: "How could they be worse?"

"_I don't want to find out._" stated Leo.

All this while Michelangelo had been leaning forward, head adroop. Only now did he open his eyes and realize the small girl was standing in front of him. He raised his face to meet hers, and she pointed at him.

"This one!" said Rynnie, "I want this one! He looks adorable and his eyes are pretty!"

Mikey chuckled nervously as beads of sweat slid down his skin. Understanding his brother was still unwell, Donatello quickly leaned in. "But Miss," he said, "He isn't feeling very well. It wouldn't be the best thing for him _or_ you if you were to take him."

The girl shook her head. "If he's feeling bad, I'll just take care of him until he feels better. So it's okay."

That's when the Lady nodded, moving her hand, and two guardsmen came down, lifting Michelangelo up between them. Mikey winced as they caught up his legs as well. "Bros..!" Mikey let his head fall backward so he could see his siblings even while he was being carried off after the girl.

"Mikey..!" Donnie, Leo and Raph watched him 'til he was taken out of sight. Raphael growled and turned to his big brother. "_Leo_, DO something!"

"Do - _what_? I'm not exactly in the position to stop them!" Leo took a breath, "Besides, Mikey's condition worries me. We can't exactly help him right now, and the girl can. Just leave things as they are for the moment." And here Leonardo glanced up at the Lady in charge. "Anyway, making too loud of an objection could make them decide to hurt him instead."

Raphael looked up at the woman, but she wasn't looking at them; though her face was forward, she was staring out of the corner of her eye. "All right Aztragus, I know you're there," said she, "Let's have an end to your skulking. Come out and see them up close. You know that's why you're here."

The turtles watched as a tall man robed in blue came forward from a shadowed alcove along the wall; there was a hood over his head. The man bowed and came to stand beside the Lady's chair; he looked down at their green-skinned captives.

"Well?" asked the Lady, leaning her head against her hand, "What do you think?"

"I can't be sure." said the man, "I would need to take one of them and consult my charts in order to determine their significance."

The ninja brothers didn't like the sound of this. But the Lady nodded, and the man came part way down into the sunken area to look them over. Finally, he pointed. "This one on the end."

Raph felt something tighten in his chest, for the man had chosen Leo. As guardsmen came down for the turtle in blue, Raphael saw that Leonardo did not intend to offer up any resistance. 'Allow me!' he thought, springing up, and ramming his head into the face of the nearest man.

"He's at it again!" cried a young guard, haphazardly retreating.

"Raph!" yelped Leo. Leonardo didn't want to be taken from this brothers, but he feared the consequences retaliation would bring. Even still, Raphael was determined to fight, and jumped backward, catching himself despite the shackles 'round his ankles.

At the same moment Leonardo was seized and yanked towards the robed man, one of the men from the troop came running towards Raphael carrying a very large war club. Raphael saw it even as Leo and Don called out to him. Yet, as Raph made to spring away, the man caught him in the gut, sending him skidding backward almost into Donnie's lap.

The scuffle had prompted her Ladyship to rise out of her chair; only now did she resume sitting, watching as Raphael tried vainly to right himself. "Go on Aztragus," she said, "The guardsmen can handle the situation from here."

The robed man bowed once again and headed off, Leonardo grunting as men from the troop dragged him along in tow. Raphael almost roared in frustration as he rolled back onto his knees. Donnie grit his teeth and shouted: "Raph! Stay down!"

"No!" snarled Raphael. Donnie looked up, quailing slightly as the guardsmen began to surround them.

"Ladyship!" said a young guard standing next to the man whose nose Raph had broken, "As long as they're being separated, might we have the violent one?"

The Lady arched an eyebrow. "What for?"

"There are several among the Guard who desire to teach the creature some respect."

The Lady gave a gibing grunt. "You want him for vengeful purposes? _Hmph_, how petty." She frowned, yet sighed. "Mm, very well."

The men smiled, but Raphael wasn't about to let them enjoy their victory. Before they knew it, he was up like a shot, ramming his head into Winsul's stomach. Winsul fell like a brick. But even as the men grabbed hold of Raph, the turtle spun to the side with all his might, throwing them off once again. The only thing that stopped the fierce turtle was the weight of the war club falling across head.

This time Raphael fell like a brick. Donatello cringed. "Oh Raph…"

Winsul stood, watching his men angrily seize the chain to Raph's shackles and begin dragging him out of the sunken area. "You may have him," came the Lady's voice, causing the men to stop, "But you must do nothing that will result in this creature's death. Until I know their significance, I need them all alive."

The men's faces were hard, but they nodded. They then proceeded to haul Raphael back out the way they'd brought him in. Donatello watched them until they were out of sight; he lowered his head for a moment before looking up at the woman. He was startled to find she'd been watching him all the while; he swallowed.

"And then there was one." she said, a hint of amusement in her voice.

Donnie's face creased, almost painfully so. "_Please_," he said, "Please you don't understand, we didn't even mean to come here. We, we don't want any trouble! I'm sorry about my brother's temper, he's always like that. But you—" Donatello was at a loss on what to say further.

"Don't worry," coaxed the Lady, "My astrologer Aztragus will be able to determine the significance of your arrival."

Donnie's face betrayed his confusion; he shook his head. "But what does that _mean_? Which is worse? Being significant or insignificant?"

Her Ladyship waved her hand dismissively. "I haven't the time to explain it now. Wait 'til this evening, I will expound on these matters further then."

Don opened his mouth to speak, but the Lady ordered him removed to her chamber. Donatello was taken away, just as his brothers had been. And at that moment, each turtle, in his various position, looked upward — longing not only for their masterful father and one another, but also their home.


	2. Scratching the Surface of the Shell

Welcome to Chapter 2! Things get sticky from here!

Oh yeah, and by the way, who's _your_ favorite turtle? Personally, I DO like all four of them, but, if I had to nail down my Top 3 choices it would be: Leo _**1st**_, Mikey & Raph tied for _**2nd**_, and Donnie _**3rd**_. How 'bout you?

* * *

**Chapter 2: Scratching the Surface of the Shell**

The sun seemed almost reluctant to leave the sky, slipping slowly beyond the horizon. And as the sun departed, the night came on like a starving monster, swallowing the world in its tenebrous grasp.

Donatello was still all alone in the chamber of her Ladyship, staring outward at the night beyond the windows; there weren't any stars in the sky nor any moon, just darkness.

Don shivered, feeling cold, and turned towards the fireplace. A little while ago a young woman had come in to light it; Don's presence in the room had startled her, but seeing the turtle was fettered had allowed her to do her job. Donatello had greeted her, understanding why she was wary of him. Despite this she said nothing to him and left the same way she'd come.

Now Donnie was sitting by the fire's warmth, wondering about his brothers' well being. In spite of Mikey's mysterious illness, Donnie figured his little brother was the one least likely to be in danger. His other two brothers were another matter entirely. "I know Raph's probably in a really bad spot considering how much he ticked off those guards." muttered Don. 'But Leo,' he thought, 'He's the only one I can't be sure of. The man who took him was an astrologer. And he said something about consulting charts.' Donnie's brow creased. 'What are they trying to find out about us?' "Could our arriving here really be more than just a random accident?"

Don was pulled from his thoughts when the door to the chamber opened. A guard came in, looked at him, then turned back to stand by the entrance. "It is safe." he said. Donnie sat up straighter as her Ladyship entered.

"I had forgotten you were waiting _here_." she said, seating herself on a cushioned stool beside her bed; she nodded to the guard. The man retreated, closing the door after him.

"Please," said Don, moving to face her, "My brothers… Are they all right?"

The woman paused a moment to study Donatello's face; she then made her reply. "My little sister has reported that your blue-eyed brother is doing better. Although apparently he became quite sick not long after she took him."

While Donnie was relieved to hear Mikey was feeling better, he still found it upsetting to learn he'd actually gotten worse. Despite knowing there was every chance she would turn him down, Don cleared this throat and made a request. "Can…can I see him?"

The Lady raised an eyebrow. She'd only just pulled on a luxurious night robe, and stood for a moment looking at the turtle. "Very well." she said. She called for the guard, who entered almost immediately. The Lady ordered the shackles removed from Donatello's ankles so he could walk freely; Donnie was pleased with this, and though they didn't entirely take the manacles from his wrists, they at least moved them so his arms were no longer chained behind his shell, and were instead before him.

He then followed her Ladyship out of the room, the guard remaining close at his back. A hallway away, they came to another door where stood another guard. Donnie entered the chamber after the Lady, and saw a lavishly childish room. "Your sister's room?" he asked.

"Yes." the Lady answered, and pointed to a large cage beside her sister's bed; Michelangelo was inside.

"Mikey!" called Donnie. He hurried over and knelt down beside the bars. Mikey was lying on a large lush cushion with pillows all around. He opened his eyes at hearing his brother's voice.

"Donnie?" he asked weakly, and reached out through the bars. Donatello took his siblings hand and frowned worriedly; Michelangelo looked exhausted.

"How're you feeling?" he asked, maneuvering his chain so he could reach in through the bars. He placed his hand on Mikey's head. "You're really warm."

"I know." he said, "Miss Ryn's been tryin' to help me. Man, I threw up all over her room. I'm surprised she didn't get totally grossed out."

At the mention of the young girl, the Lady turned to the room's guard. "Where _is_ Rynnie?"

"_Eh_, the young Miss went to the kitchens to fetch some soup."

"Mm." her Ladyship nodded.

Donatello was surprised when the Lady turned and left the room; but he quickly brought his attention back to his little bro. "Why does she have you in a cage?"

"I dunno," answered Mikey, blinking tiredly, "I think I'm like supposed to be her pet turtle or something."

Donnie grunted from his throat. "_Pet_."

"She means well." said the turtle in orange. There was a mutual pause before Mikey spoke up again. "Where's Leo and Raph?"

The muscle under Donnie's eye tightened a bit. "I don't know. I haven't see them since earlier today."

Mikey's brow creased. "What?" He tried to lean up, but the pillows were too plush and he ended up sinking back into them. "W-what happened?"

"They split us up. An astrologer walked off with Leo, and the guardmen took Raph. And me? Well, I ended up with the head lady, I don't know why."

Mikey gave a crooked smile. "'cause you're the smart one."

Donnie looked down, the look of curious surprise on his face, though, Michelangelo had closed his eyes by then. "I'm so tired." he said.

There was a sound at the door, and little Miss Ryn came into the room carrying a large bowl of steaming soup. She was surprised to see Donatello sitting by the cage. "It's all right," assured Ryn's big sister, coming in behind her, "I only brought him here so he could see how his brother was doing."

"Oh." said the girl, before moving to sit by the cage; she looked to Michelangelo, "Do you think you can eat some soup?"

"I can try." said Mikey. Ryn scooped out a spoonful of the savory soup and extended it through the bars. Mikey gulped it, taking almost the entire spoon in his mouth; this made Rynnie giggle and she let go of the end. Mikey smiled and handed the spoon back.

Donnie frowned. 'I don't understand why they're keeping him in a cage. It's not like he's dangerous, especially considering the condition he's in.'

"Come," said the Lady, abruptly, "Let's leave them be."

Don was startled to hear this command from the woman, and he hesitated to obey. But as he looked at the Lady, her gaze told him disobedience was not an option. The turtle in purple rose, and Mikey raised his three-fingered hand in a farewell gesture. "'night Donnie. Thanks for coming to check on me. I'll be seein' ya."

Donatello thought it was strange how Michelangelo's attitude had changed ever since the girl had come into the room. He stared at Mikey as he was ushered from the chamber; Mikey and Rynnie were laughing together.

"Are you satisfied?" asked the Lady, walking ahead of Donatello.

Donnie was staring downwards. "Yes, but…I'd also like to see my other brothers." The woman stopped, turning toward the turtle. Donnie nervously cleared his throat and spoke up again. "It's just, your guards… I mean, they're not still beating up on Raph, are they? I mean, they have let him go by now, haven't they?"

The Lady looked unsure all at once. "Tanon!" she called, and a guard that had been standing further down the hall came to her. "What news of the turtle that was taken by your fellows? They aren't still beating the creature, are they?"

"I, don't know." replied the man, nervously.

"Well go and find out. I want you to secure the turtle's release with Winsul, and then bring him here."

"Yes Ladyship." said Tanon, then heading off to do as he was bidden. When the Lady turned back to Donatello, she found a hard frown on his face as he stared after the guard.

"Come." she said, "I will take you to your other brother." Donatello jumped to catch up with her. "I wasn't planning on seeing Aztragus tonight." informed the Lady, "Usually he reports his findings to me in the mornings. However, it is good to do things differently every now and then."

"Yes." Donnie replied.

* * *

Aztragus the astrologer was peering into his crystal orb where all the stars of the heavens were usually projected. But now, there was only darkness. A moan from Leonardo drew the man's attention, and Aztragus frowned, wondering if this newfound darkness had something to do with the turtles. He looked back at his charts.

Leo winced; he could feel a spasm running through his muscles again. The astrologer, with the help of his apprentice, had forced the turtle to ingest noxious plant leaves that had induced paralysis throughout his body. Of course, the painful spasms told Leo paralysis wasn't the weed's only side effect.

Currently, Leonardo was lying on an elevated stone slab, his carapace in a large indentation Aztragus had created in the stone using some kind of transformative alchemy. Considering they were no longer necessary, Leo's chains had also been removed, as well as his leather sash, knee/elbow pads, and his wrist bands.

Leo wheezed, suddenly opening his mouth to gulp in the air of the stuffy chamber. Every now and again, the muscles of his trachea seemed to tighten, making it harder to breath — _now_ was one of those times. His heart was racing now, sudor glistening across his green skin. 'I'm glad my brothers didn't fall into this man's hands.' thought Leo to himself, closing his eyes. Of course, Leo realized this was about the only thing he could be happy about, considering he didn't have any idea what had become of his siblings. 'Well,' thought Leo, 'At least I know they're not suffering _this_.'

Leonardo felt a tingle in his arm and opened his eyes, seeing that the astrological alchemist was now standing beside the slab. The man picked up Leo's hand and, turning the palm upward, began to study the lines. Leo frowned. 'What, so now he's a fortune teller? An astrologer who utilizes alchemy _and_ reads palms... _Sheesh_, what kind of weirdo did I get mixed up with? What's he going to be next, a karaoke singer?'

Aztragus put Leo's arm back by his side and returned to his work table where he placed a blank piece of parchment over one of his star charts, and began tracing lines. Leo closed his eyes again, relieved that his heart rate had gone back down; it was easier to breathe again.

The alchemist 'tutted' and fingered his chin as he stared at his papers. Leo watched him, and when Aztragus turned his head, their eyes locked for a moment. "Yes," said the man, quietly, "Only one thing left to do." He went to a bookcase of sorts and pulled out a black bowl; he then began rummaging through the shelves' contents, dipping lower until he found another item he was looking for.

Leonardo watched him warily, eyes widening when he saw Aztragus take out a small dirk. The man pulled the knife from its sheath and went over to a small basin of water; lightly he dipped the blade in before proceeding to polish it clean. He did this longer than Leo expected, but once this task had been completed, Aztragus took up the bowl, knife still in hand, and came towards the supine turtle.

Leo blenched. The astrologer put aside his implements a moment, and proceeded to look his subject over. He lifted Leo's leg, studied his thigh and calf, then pinched Leo's skin to test its pliability.

Leo hissed through his teeth; getting pinched hurt more than it should have. Leonardo guessed the weed had also heightened the sensitivity of his nerves. '_This isn't good_.' he bemoaned in his mind.

Aztragus set Leo's leg down, and proceeded to give his arm the same scrutiny; again he pinched Leo. "_Ow_," managed to slip passed the turtle's lips, and he realized his vocal cords had come out of their immotile state.

The alchemist didn't seem to hear, and set Leo's arm down before moving to inspect his neck. Leo's eyes were flung wide as the man pushed his face to the side and began feeling his throat. "No..!" gasped the turtle in blue.

Aztragus seemed startled by the utterance. "_Oh_." he said, "Your speech is returning."

"Why, is it _inconvenient_ for you?" hissed Leonardo, "Does taking away another's voice make it easier for you to kill them? It's not so hard to slit my throat when I can't speak out in protest, is it?!"

The astrologer snuffed. "Impudent beast." He reached, grasping the dirk. Leo grit his teeth only to have the door to the chamber open right at that moment. To Aztragus' surprise, a guard came in and stood beside the portal. "Her Ladyship!" announced the guard.

Leo was startled for a moment, then angered. 'What? Is she here for a status report? Or just to watch?!'

The Lady IraVana swept into the room in her grand mantle, and came up the short steps to Aztragus and 'his' turtle. She noted the blade in the man's hand, and raised an eyebrow. "Busy?" asked she, with slight sarcasm.

The alchemist glanced at the blade and set it aside just as Donatello came into the room. It took only a few moments for the turtle in purple to spot his brother on the slab. "Leo!" Donnie ran up, much to Aztragus' surprise.

Leonardo was surprised too. "Donnie! Y-you're all right?"

"Yeah!" laughed Don, putting his hand on Leo's head; Leo's skin was clammy, similar to Mikey's. "Are you," he looked down across his brother's body, "All right?"

"_No_," groaned Leo, suddenly gasping for air again, "I can't move!" He glared over at his tormentor. "This man made me swallow some kind of weed. It's paralyzed me!"

Donnie's gaze became as sharp as daggers. "You did what?!" he snapped at the man.

"Was that entirely necessary?" asked the Lady.

Aztragus bowed slightly. "It is my standard modus operandi Ladyship. I had been about to enter the final stage of my assessment when you came in."

"Yeah!" scoffed Leonardo, "Final as in _finishing me_!" He suddenly looked to Donatello. "Donnie! You have to help me! This guy's going to kill me! You have to get me outta here!"

The Ladyship turned to her astrologer. "Is this true Aztragus?"

The man picked up the blade, and both the turtles eyes widened. "I did intend to bleed the creature, yes. I need a good deal of its blood to complete my evaluation and come to a definite conclusion about their significance."

Donatello suddenly sprang over the slab, landing between his immobilized brother and the man threatening him; Aztragus stumbled back, but held the blade before him defensively. "If you need blood, you take it from me! But you're not touching him again!"

"Donnie no!" called Leo. The Lady was almost amazed at what was transpiring before her; she looked between Leo and Donnie almost in fascination. 'Are these creatures so willing to suffer for one another?'

Aztragus looked haughtily superior and suddenly seized Don's chain, yanking him forward and towards a hook set low into the wall. He threw the chain over this even as Donatello pulled back, and then pushed a large pot between the turtle and the wall. He then kicked Don in the back of the legs, causing him to fall to his knees, his elbows coming against the inner edge of the pot. Aztragus then knelt, cutting loose Donnie's elbow pads.

Don looked at Aztragus, and vise versa. Then, without a second thought, the man cut into the flesh of the turtle's arms with two quick slices. Donatello jerked, gasping in pain; the deep cuts felt like bee stings that'd caught fire.

"Donatello!" cried Leonardo. He cringed: _this wasn't right!_

The Lady stared almost in shock. She'd known what was going to happen, and yet the sight of Donatello's blood startled her. While Don was trying to deal with the pain, Aztragus rose to clean his dirk.

The Lady approached him. "I believe you're rather a vindictive man." said she, almost in anger.

Aztragus grinned. "Fear not Ladyship, I will have answers for you on the morrow. And then we shall know whether or not these creatures have any persuasive power over destiny."

"Or even fate _itself_?" finished the Lady, lips hardening with her frown; she turned from the man. She moved towards Donatello, feeling as though she should apologize to him or at least reassure him in some way; but she wasn't sure how. She looked over at Leonardo, who only returned an icy glare.

"Do not bleed him anymore than you have to." stated the Lady, "Be sure to have the healer bind his wounds as soon as you've collected what you need. Understood?"

Aztragus bowed as a sign that he did. The Lady gave a curt nod and headed down the steps. "I will send Winsul to collect the turtles once the healer has seen to them."

"Yes, Lady." said the alchemist. His chamber door shut with a bang. Aztragus almost sneered and, turning from the door, approached Donatello. With a glint in his eye, the man then grabbed Don's upper arms and squeezed, almost to milk the blood from his veins.

Donnie yelped as the alchemist expected he would, but what he didn't expect was for the turtle's foot to swing up and plow straight into his gut. Aztragus flew backward, coming up against the far wall with a hard grunt. Unfortunately, the kick hadn't had enough force in it to knock the man out, but he was decidedly stunned, and the reptilian brothers smiled.

"_All right Don_!" cheered Leo.

Donatello chuckled sheepishly as he stood, taking his chain from the hook. "I should've done that the moment I laid eyes on the creep." he said, moving over to Leonardo. Donatello lugged Leo up, pulling Leo's shell out of the hole it'd been set in.

Leonardo however, was staring worriedly at the gashes in Don's arms. "Your _arms_," he said, as Donnie made to pick him up.

"I know," replied Don, "I'll deal with that in a minute." He hefted Leo up onto his back, "First we gotta get out of here."

Aztragus was stirring behind them, and Donatello felt a thrill of fear. He hastened down the short steps to the chamber door; but even as he reached for the handle, the door came swinging open. It plowed into Don before he could move away, and knocked both him and his brother back against the floor. Aztragus came lumbering to the edge of the upper level, seeing the surprised faces of Captain Winsul and the healer standing in the doorway.

"What's this?" asked Winsul. The healer beside him, an older man with a thin build, noted the blood dripped across the floor and immediately sighted the lacerations in Donatellos arms. He bent with his medi-kit to tend to the turtle's wounds even as Aztragus was coming down to them.

"They attacked me!" he yelled.

Winsul snorted. "Don't lie star-seer. This one can't even move." He lifted Leo's arm with the point of his toe before letting it fall limp to the floor again.

"Well _that_ one!" snapped the astrologer, pointing deftly at Donatello. Don glared back at him, but winced as the healer applied pressure to stem the blood flow.

"I can see why," said the healer, disdainfully, "Seeing what you did to him."

"Don't fuss about it." Winsul said, cutting of Aztragus' attempt to protest, "It doesn't matter anyway. I'm here to collect them."

"I'm not finished!" barked the alchemist. Leo glowered, staring upward from the floor.

"You are now." corrected the Captain, "Her Ladyship left no room for exceptions. You'll just have to use what you've got."

Donatello hissed as the healer began to wrap his arms, and the old man apologized. Don and Leo were surprised by the sincerity in the man's voice. Winsul made a few gestures with his hand through the doorway, and three men walked in; two proceeded to lift Leonardo from the floor.

A very black and rotten expression came over the astrologer's face and he turned away furiously, almost stomping back to the upper level. Donnie got to his feet once the healer had finished tending him, and he and Leo were taken from the room. The healer had been eyeing Leo, and turned back to address Aztragus.

"What did you give him?"

Aztragus' head snapped 'round in an exaggerated manner. "Excuse me?"

The healer frowned even more than before. "The turtle in blue, what poison did you feed him?"

Aztragus pulled his lips into a smug smirk. "Okum leaves. The oldest I had."

The healer's features tightened ever so slightly. "I see." He fell to pondering over a remedy as he left the room. He caught up with the group a ways ahead, but they were soon stopped when they ran into her Ladyship's little sister.

"Ah!" squeaked Miss Ryn, "The other two! _Oh_, and they're hurt too!" She looked between Donnie and Leo; then her eyes caught sight of the healer. "Oh Cornell! There you are! I was coming to find you. I need you to see to one of the turtles!"

Cornell started. "Another one?" he blinked.

"What's _happened?"_ asked Don, thinking immediately of Mikey.

"_Oh_," she moaned, "It's just awful! He's hurt so badly! Come quickly!" She started down the hall. "And bring those two." she said, meaning Leo and Don, "They'll probably want to see him!"

"But, we were told to take them to the Tower Keep." interjected Winsul.

Miss Ryn shook her head. "They can go to the Keep later! But for now I want to keep them all together!" And she raced off, not giving the Captain another chance to argue. Cornell jumped to catch up, and Donnie followed, shouting for the men to come on.

Winsul sighed. He looked back at this men, and they at him; they were shifting their hands, trying to get a better grip on Leonardo's dead weight. The hour was late, and Winsul knew his men would rather be anywhere other than where they were. "Give the creature to me." he said, going down on one knee and indicating he wanted them to put the turtle across his shoulders.

"You're sure Captain?" they asked.

"Yes please!" cried Leo out of the blue, "My brothers mean everything to me. I have to know what's happening to them!"

Obliging the immotile turtle, the men turned Leonardo over and set him across their Captain's back. Winsul rose, and nodded to them. "Have a good night." he said.

The men smiled and nodded. "Thank you sir." Winsul turned away at the same moment they did, and headed for the chamber of her Ladyship's sister. It was a ways away, considering the shear enormity of the Manor, and when Leo realized he was beginning to become a burden to Winsul, he cleared his throat.

"Thank you." he said, "I would take myself there on my own if I could."

Winsul grunted, giving a slight grin. "S'not your fault." His brow then hardened. "_Everyone_ hates Aztragus, he's so flaming cocky. _And_ mean spirited."

"I'd noticed." responded Leo.

A minute or so later, the pair of them finally turned the corner into the corridor leading to Miss Ryn's room. The door to the chamber was open and a painful wailing could be heard issuing from within. The wails got suddenly louder and Leo's eyes widened when he realized they belonged to Raphael.

"Raph?!" Leo gasped as he was brought into the room. An unmasked Raphel was lying on a bright red blanket surrounded by Ryn, Donnie and Cornell; Michelangelo was yonder, peering anxiously through the bars of his cage.

"Leo!" called Mikey.

Leo was startled to see his baby brother caught in a cage. Winsul carried Leonardo passed the small group surrounding Raph, and put him down near the cage.

Mikey reached out, placing his hand on his brother's plastron."Leo, _man_, are you okay?"

Leo's face tightened a bit. "I can't move." he explained swiftly, then shifted his eyes towards Raphael. "What happened to Raph?"

"_Dude_, I don't know anything! They just suddenly brought him in like _that_."

Raphael let out another painful cry, and the healer realized he wouldn't be able to treat the turtle properly as long as he was conscious. "I'll have to give him a sedative." said Cornell, pulling out a small bottle. He tried to give it to the injured terrapin but Raph refused to accept it, being unaware of where he was and thinking his tormenters were trying still new ways to hurt him.

Donatello took the bottle from Cornell, and, angrily knocking his chain out of the way, put his hand behind Raph's head. "Raph, it's okay. You're safe now, but you need to _drink_ this."

Raphael opened his eyes and tried to focus on his brother's face. "Donnie, izzat you?"

"Yes," replied the turtle in purple, concerned with how long it was taking Raph to focus on him, "But you need to drink this." Raph accepted the potion, and almost choked as he swallowed it.

"That'll help." informed the healer, as Don handed back the emptied the bottle, "And give me a chance to treat him." While the potion proceeded to calm Raph and pull him into unconsciousness, Cornell looked the turtle over and made a proper assessment of his injuries. There were marks around his neck, almost of strangulation; there were innumerable contusions and several lacerations, and even several blistered patches where his green skin had been licked by flames.

Even as Cornell was shaking his head in horror and disgust, tears were filling Miss Ryn's eyes. Donnie looked up at her as she started to cry. "It's SO awful!" she wailed, and covered her face with her hands.

Don was touched by her care and consideration of them, and lightly placed his hand on her small shoulder. "It's all right," he said softly, "As long as we treat his wounds properly, his mutant turtle genes will ensure he makes a full recovery. They always have. So please, don't cry." The little girl looked at Donnie, and he tried to smile reassuringly.

Leo's heart felt heavy, so heavy it almost ached as it beat in his chest. "This is my fault." he said, and Mikey looked down at him, "If I'd fought them from the beginning instead of agreeing to come, this might not've happened. _None_ _of it_." Winsul raised an eyebrow at hearing this.

"_Dude_," moaned Mikey, "You don't know that. Besides, it doesn't do any good to regret what's already happened. All you can do is learn from your mistakes! Right?"

Leo was barely listening. "I couldn't even defend Donnie." he mewled, "I was the one who was supposed to be bled. But Donnie took the hit for me." He shut his eyes suddenly. "If I wasn't such a worthless leader, you'd probably all be safe right now."

Anger swelled in Michelangelo's heart. He suddenly reached out through the bars with both hands, almost catching his big brother 'round the throat. Leonardo gasped as he was pulled right up against the bars. "Stop it Leo!" yelled Mikey, effectively getting the attention of everyone in the room, save Raph.

Michelangelo quickly calmed. "_Just stop it._" he pleaded, the look of helplessness all over his face, "I-I don't know how you can say that, after everything we've been through. I mean, seriously, we'd all be dead a 1000 times over if it weren't for you! You're not perfect Leo. I mean, I know _I'm_ not. But that doesn't change the fact that you're a great leader." He glanced quickly toward Raph and Donnie, then back again. "Things like this just happen, and we just gotta learn from it. _Right_?"

Leonardo stared, processing everything Mikey had just said. He was suddenly aware of Donatello sitting on his other side. Don smiled. "Mikey's right you know."

Leo's eyes got a little watery, and he smiled. "_Sheesh_," he said, "Now I'm acting all moody. Guess I'll blame that on the weed too."

"The weed…" muttered Donnie, then turning. He went back over to where Cornell was treating Raph and held the end of a bandage so the healer could cut it. "Cornell," he asked, "I know you've got your hands full helping my brother here. But, is there something we could give my other brother to counteract the effects of the weed he was given?"

Cornell's expression flickered and he looked suddenly grave. "Believe me," he said, "I have not ceased to ponder over an effective remedy. But Okum leaves are potent _and_ powerful, especially if they are aged. If your brother is to recover quickly, a unique mix of special herbs and spices will have to be created."

Donnie glanced up at the healer as he continued to aid him. "Will that be difficult?"

The healer nodded. "If I am unable to assemble a proper remedy, your brother's system will have to work through the poison on its own. And that would mean it would be at least seven days before he would regain full control over his body."

"A whole week?!" cried the turtles. Cornell nodded. He and Donnie sat Raphael up, and Donnie steadied him while Cornell commenced with wrapping tightly the turtles midriff. Donnie stole a glance over his shoulder at his other two brothers; they were looking at him. He tried to give them a encouraging smile.

* * *

An hour passed, and Miss Ryn was very tired by then. Winsul told her he would have the turtles removed to the Tower Keep as the Ladyship had said, and thereby allow Ryn to finally get to bed. The little girl however, did not want this to be done, mainly because she had no intention of giving up Mikey and thought, under the circumstances, that it would be cruel to separate them.

Grudgingly, Winsul consented to allow the four turtles to remain with Miss Ryn. However, he could not trust the terrapins completely, and ordered three more cages brought to the room. Understandably, Donatello was _not_ in favor of this and did everything he could to convince the guards' Captain that he and his brothers did not pose any kind of threat to little Miss Ryn.

But Winsul would not be persuaded and before he bid goodnight to her Ladyship's sister, the turtles were all neatly locked up, each in his own cage. At last Ryn was able to crawl between her bed sheets, bidding her 'pets' goodnight, and promptly slipped into slumber.

Donatello was between Raphael and Leonardo, with Michelangelo on the other side still nearest Ryn's bedside. The room was quiet except for the intermittent crackling of the fire on the hearth. Raph could be heard breathing steadily, if a little shallowly. Mikey was on his side hugging one of the pillows Ryn had given him, and soon realized he was beginning to doze. He could hear Donatello shifting in his cage, and knew he wanted to be awake for the forthcoming conversation between Don and Leo.

Don dipped his head down, catching Leo's eye through the bars. Leo smiled wryly. "I'm already tired of laying in this position." he sighed, frustrated with himself, "_Ugh_, I miss being able to move."

Mikey sat up upon hearing this; he nodded to Donnie through the bars, and the pair of them reached through into Leo's cage, managing to shift him over onto his back. Mikey even pushed one of his pillows through the bars and underneath Leo's head. "That comfy?" quizzed Mikey, happily.

With a nervous sweat-drop, Leo smiled and thanked his brothers; he knew they were going to a lot of trouble just to make him comfortable. "Yes." he said, quietly, "Though I'd feel a lot better if we were all home."

Snorts came from his brothers. "Well that's the understatement of the year."

"So, what're we going to do?" asked Donnie, sitting back against the bars. "I mean, they keep talking about needing to find out if we're significant or not. But we still don't know why."

"Well," said Leo, staring up through the bars at the ceiling, "Considering how seriously they seem to be taking this whole affair, whatever the reason _is_, I can't imagine it's good. At least not for us."

"It's—not…" came a hoarse voice from the far end of the lineup. Everyone's eyes widened and both Mikey and Donnie popped their heads up as far as they're cages would allow. "Raph?"

"Well it ain't the bleedin' tooth fairy." Raph groaned grumpily; his voice was scratchy and painful to listen to. He reached, touching his hand to his throat and tried to clear it.

"Raph," came Leo's voice, "How do you feel?"

A snide smirk pulled at Raphael's lips. "Like I got the spit kicked out of me." His voice was still rough and he let out a few dry coughs.

"You think you'll be okay?" asked Michelangelo, concernedly.

"_Yeah_," came Raph's gravelly response. He frowned at the bars in front of his face, his back being towards his brothers. "What's goin' on? Where are we?"

"Well, believe it or not we're actually safe," said Donatello, glancing backward over his shoulder, "I mean, for now at least. But," he looked back at Raph, "What was it you were saying before? Do you know what's going on?"

Raph took in a breath and reached out, taking hold of the bars. Yet even as he tried to lean himself up, pain stabbed into his ribs and he gasped, instantly collapsing back against the floor of the cage.

Leo's eyes widened. "What's happening?" he asked, unable to see.

"_Nothing_." croaked Raph, angrily coming to the conclusion that he wouldn't be able to move from that position. "Anyway," he said eventually, "In between getting my shell kicked, I heard some of the guards talkin'."

"You were fighting the guards?" quizzed Leo.

"Why?" asked Mikey.

"The stupid idiots wanted revenge!" snapped Donatello, before Raph could answer, "And the Lady let them get it! But _whatever_. Go on Raph, what'd they say?"

Raphael frowned, but went on. "I heard a lot of different things. But, from what I could piece together, the top-lady was born under some kind of special star. Guess that's supposed to mean somethin' _big_ 'round these parts. Anyway, some crazy astrologer told her parents that a great darkness would one day come to cover all the land—_you know_, the whole doom and gloom bit."

Mike and Leo blinked, listening intently; Donnie however, seemed distracted all at once.

"Apparently," Raph went on in his graveled voice, "The lady here is s'posed to be able to _'_save the world_'_ when the darkness comes. She just needs what _they_ called _livin' elements_ in order to get the job done."  
"Living elements?" said Leo.

Michelangelo frowned in confusion. "Well, that could be anything, right?"

"Yeah, anything," hissed Leo, "But I get the feeling that whack-job Aztragus is trying to find out whether or not we're it."

"Az-_who_?" asked Mikey.

"Some sadistic fruitcake I hope you'll never meet." answered Leo, eyes narrowing menacingly as an image of the man's face appeared in his mind.

"_Oh no_…" mewled Donatello, out of the blue.

All of his brothers heard the tone in his voice, and knew something was wrong. "Donnie, what's the matter?" quizzed Leo.

Don was sitting back against the bars, clinging to them with one hand while holding his other hand against the area of his plastron that protected his stomach. "I feel—_sick_," he whimpered. His hand went suddenly to his mouth, and his siblings heard him gag in his throat.

Mikey's eyes widened then as he watched Don go forward onto his knees. His mouth came open and he expelled a hard dry heave. His gut trembled, sucking in, and Donatello gagged again, spit hitting the floor of his cage.

Mikey's teeth were gritted, his face creased with totally disgusted empathy; after all, he'd been in the same position only a few hours before. "Donnie…"

Don continued heaving, but little came out, for there really wasn't anything in his stomach for him to throw up. The turtle in purple winced, moaning in an awful manner between each of his attempts to disgorge whatever was making his body so nauseated.

And as his brothers listened and observed, they found they could barely stand the sound of him being in such hideous distress. Mikey abruptly glanced backward at the little miss sleeping in her bed, wondering why Don's attempts to vomit hadn't awoken her. 'Kid sleeps like a rock.' he thought.

Donatello gave one last dreadful retch, it sounding as if his stomach were trying to come up into his throat, and spit out a mouthful of brown stomach juices. Then, it was over. He held onto the bars on either side, panting, almost shaking, with sweat sliding down his green skin. He moaned again and laid down, utterly exhausted.

His brothers wanted to ask him if he was all right, but at the moment, the answer to that question seemed fairly obvious. "_Dude_," said Mikey, with a shaky voice, "That's exactly what happened to _me_. I hope I didn't give it to you Don."

Donatello just moaned pitifully, his brow creasing as he closed his eyes. Leo stared at him, wishing he could reach through the bars and take his bro's hand in a reassuring grip. Even Raphael was trying to turn over despite the pain it was causing him. "First Mikey was sick, now Donnie!" Raph barked, grunting in pain, "I don't like this Leo! I DON'T."

Leonardo's thoughts were turning over and over. Did his little brothers have the same bug? "I don't either." Leo assured his younger brother.

With one great grunt, Raphael landed on his other side, and steadied himself as the pang from his injuries faded. He then extended his hand through the bars and placed it on Donatello's carapace. "Donnie, you okay?"

Don managed a weak, "_Mm_-_hmm_," before becoming silent. Raph blinked, noting each of his brothers was in a separate cage. He also realized, upon rubbing his eye, that his red banded-mask was no longer on his face. He tried to think back and recall when he'd lost it, but found he couldn't. 'Must've been when that big guy slugged me over the head.' he through wryly, feeling all at once very tired. Leo sighed and let his eyes slide closed.

A muscle twitched under Michelangelo's eye and he suddenly realized he could feel a strange presence in the room. When he looked out into the vacant area of the chamber, he saw a man's face rising up out of the floor.

"Gah!" cried Mikey, jumping up and slamming into the top of his cage. The head in the floor was followed by a pair of shoulders. Mikey pointed, holding his sore skull. "Guys! There's some dude coming out of the floor!"


	3. Sinking Into the Dark

Hello! And welcome to the third chapter! Thanks to everyone who decided to stick with me! ^_^ And thanks to those who said they don't usually read TMNT stories where the turtles aren't on their home turf of NYC - I appreciate you giving my tale a chance guys!

Finally, thank you God for all Your help! I couldn't do this without You! ^.~

* * *

**Chapter 3: Sinking Into the Dark**

Aztragus set his feet onto the floor, and looked at the four caged turtles before him. "_There_ you are."

Mikey moved backward in his cage. "Who's that?!"

Donnie had sat up by then; his eyes widened. Leo couldn't lift his head but knew the astrologer's voice. "_Aztragus_." he and Don said at the same time.

The astrologer was wearing a midnight cloak, and looked a menacing figure framed in the firelight. He came boldly forward, his cloak swaying with his strides, and stopped before Donnie's cage.

Raphael glared at the alchemist as the man got down eyelevel with his younger brother; he remembered Leo had labeled this man a sadist, and you could tell just from his expression that this was true.

Donatello felt suddenly frightened as the alchemist peered in at him, and while he didn't retreat to the back of his cage, Donnie could not help leaning away.

Aztragus smiled, eyes wide with delight. "Your blood was dancing in my bowl." he said, "I had done nothing to it, yet still it danced."

Raph growled. He didn't know everything Aztragus had done to his brothers, but knew he _had_ hurt them, for when the man mentioned 'blood' he saw Donnie immediately touch his wrapped arms.

Donatello shook his head. "What're you talking about?"

The astrologer reached into one of his pockets and withdrew a black velvet glove. "What were you doing just a few moments ago?" he asked.

Donnie watched Aztragus pull the glove on, and sat back without meaning to, bringing his legs toward him with a deliberate swing to avoid the mess on the floor of the cage.

Aztragus frowned curiously at the spots of acidic spit. "What's this?"

Mikey leaned forward all at once, gripping the bars of his cage. "He was sick, so what?!"

"Be _quiet_ Mikey." Leo said at once, worried his baby brother might say something that would be to the astrologer's advantage.

"Oh?" Aztragus blinked, moving his eyes to the turtle in orange; he tipped his head slightly, "I don't remember seeing _you_ earlier."

Michelangelo unconsciously pulled backward; the anger he'd felt the moment before was gone, replaced by a sudden and terrible chill. 'He's _dangerous_,' Mikey found himself thinking, _'Crazy_-freak dangerous!'

Raphael sat up with a growl, gripping the bars for support. "Yeah? Well I suggest you kiss off before I make you kiss my fist, whack-bag!"

Aztragus spun toward Raphael, eyeing him intently. He could plainly see the turtle was in sad shape, and grunted amusedly. "Your threat is hollow considering your position."

Raph snarled as his grip tightened on the bars.

"Why did you come?!" demanded Leonardo, sorely wishing he could rise and face the man. This wish was partly granted when the alchemist suddenly leapt up onto Leo's cage.

Leonardo's eyes sprang wide as the man hunkered down against the top of the cage, pressing his face between the bars. Leo's lower eyelids drew upward, sweat breaking along his brow, for indeed, he could now see something in the man's cold eyes that hadn't been there before: _insanity_.

Something inside Aztragus had snapped, and his eyes, wild and piercing, seemed to go straight through the eldest of the turtles. "Why have I _come_?" Aztragus asked, reiterating the question, "I've come because I believe I have at last found that which IraVana has been searching for _all_ - _her_ - _life_!"

Leo swallowed.

"No!" countered Donatello, not wanting to believe the astrologer's assertion. "We _can't_ be what you guys are looking for! We didn't even mean to come here! You guys are reading more into us than a stack of encyclopedias!"

Aztragus didn't look at Don, he just leaned up from the bars, still staring down at Leonardo. "You don't choose fate, turtle," said he, "Fate chooses you." He then sprang backward as if someone had yanked him by the shoulders, and landed on the floor as nimbly as a cat. He pushed his gloved hand into a pouch at his hip, dusting it in some kind of blue powder before reaching out to grip the outermost bar of Donatello's cage.

At once Donnie felt the air rushing passed him, and yelped when the cage suddenly sank through the floor with him inside! Don's brothers gasped, staring at the empty space between their cages.

"What'd you do?!" screamed Michelangelo at the same moment Leo called out Donatello's name.

"You freak!" roared Raph, "I'll bash your pukin' brains out!"

Aztragus laughed and stood. "I'd like to see you try!" He touched Raphael's cage with the same gloved-hand, and Raph gasped as he too disappeared into the floor.

"Raph!" cried Mikey and Leo. Aztragus dusted his glove again, and came towards the remaining turtles.

"Mikey!" sounded Leo, "Wake up the little girl! _Hurry_!"

"Dude!" wailed Mikey, turning to Ryn's bedside, "If she didn't wake up for all _this_, do you really think _I'll_ be able to wake her up?"

"_Just try!_" commanded Leo, before slipping through the floor as his brothers had.

Mikey reached out, grabbing hold of Ryn's bed covers. "Miss Ryn! Wake up! _We're being turtle-napped by some crazy dude!_"

Michelangelo winced as he felt himself slipping through space, through the very molecules themselves. It felt like falling through pudding, except nothing stuck. All was darkness, and Mikey shivered in fright.

Gravity seemed to turn upside down, and when Michelangelo saw light again, his cage had risen up into another room. His brothers were there already, their cages scattered about having arrived in no particular order.

"_Guys_..?" asked Mikey, shakily. He wanted to hear his big brothers' voices, and they obliged him, each saying his name with a measure of relief. Mikey smiled, not happily, but he still smiled. They were all in danger, but, at least they would be facing it together.

"Where are we?" questioned Raph. Leo and Don didn't recognize the little room. The area was small and lit by flaming torches burning along two of the walls. There was a large curtain covering the greater portion of another wall, and it swayed against the drafty currents of air seeping into the room.

Mikey sat back, and felt something in his hand. He brought the item up before his eyes and saw that it was Ryn's top sheet. He was surprised he hadn't let go it throughout the awkward trip. 'Wonder if she woke up…' thought Mikey, fingering the fabric.

The terrapins were startled when the curtain was pulled aside all at once, but only part way, and a young boy came into the room. Donnie, Raph and Mikey blinked at him with confusion, having expected Aztragus to be the next face they saw. The boy however, only smiled at them with a cunning intelligence. His hair was solid black, and huge round glasses were dominating his face.

"What's going on?" quizzed Leo, still flat on his shelled-back; he could sense his brothers' confusion, "Who came in?"

"Just me." answered the boy. "You're back I see." he said, approaching Leonardo.

Leo's face tightened. "_Coji_."

"Who?" asked Raphael.

"Aztragus' apprentice." Leo informed, "He's the one who helped Aztragus shove the weed down my throat."

The expressions on the faces of Leo's brothers changed instantly; they frowned, glaring, seeing the boy now only as an enemy. Coji noted their displeasure with him, and frowned. "Well what do you want from me? He's my master, I'm supposed to help him!"

The turtles glanced at one another.

"Speaking of Master," said Coji, glancing around thoughtfully, "He hasn't arrived yet. I wonder if he's been waylaid." A crafty smile spread across the boy's lips. "That's good. That'll give me a chance to do my work."

The brothers watched as the boy then stepped up to Leo's cage, drawing forth a handful of red powder from a bag on his belt. The lock disintegrated as soon as the power touched it, and the whole barred face of the cage swung open; Coji smiled.

Reaching into the enclosure, Coji took hold of Leo's legs. The turtle's face creased as he shut his eyes. '_Oh no…_'

"I'm glad to see you still can't move." said Coji, lugging Leo out of the confines of the cage.

"What're you going to do with him?" asked Donatello, quickly. Leo grunted as his shell slid from the metal floor of the cage onto the hard stone floor just below it; the sound of his shell being pulled across the floor was both graveled and scratchy.

"Dude!" piped up Mikey, giving the bars an angry thump, "Leo's been through enough already!"

Seemingly heedless, the boy proceeded to drag Leo into the radiance of one of the torches.

"What're you doin'?!" barked Raphael, pounding against his bars, "Answer us ya little twerp!"

The boy hissed in frustration over the noise. "I'm going to catalogue him, alright!" He then sat down huffily, and drew out a small book. He pulled a pencil from somewhere behind his ear, and flipped to the first blank page. "Species," he said aloud, as he began to write the word, "Turtle." He looked 'round at the four terrapins, studying each of them before returning to his book. "Skin: green, various shades,"

"What's he doing?" asked Mikey, utterly perplexed.

Donatello blinked. "He's… He's an amateur _biologist_."

"_Uh_, what?"

"H-he's writing down details about us, logging our stats, making some kind of _catalog_."

"That's bad right?" quizzed Raph, assuming anything anyone in the Manor wanted to do to them was bad.

"I don't know." answered Donnie, "I guess that depends on what he intends to do with the information."

Coji was tapping the end of his pencil against Leo's plastron. "_Hmm_, well armored." He then reached out, running his hand along the plastron's boney surface. "Interesting texture." he mused.

Leo was trying hard to keep an even breath; he lay, watching the child, being painfully aware he could do little else. Coji scribbled a few notes, then set aside both book and pencil. He took hold of the edge of Leo's carapace and, with a little effort, pushed the turtle over onto his side.

Mikey, Raph and Donnie looked on, feeling almost as uncomfortable with the situation as Leo. Coji poked at the bridge running along Leonardo's side, seeing it was what connected the plastron to the hard shell on Leo's back.

"Interesting," murmured the boy, then writing down more notes.

Leo sighed. "Do you _have_ to do this?"

Coji blinked. "_No_. But I want to." He then began tapping Leo's carapace.

"Dude," said Mikey, addressing the boy, "Don't you have any comic books you can read? I mean, I know poking my brother is fun and all, but you should really pick up the Justice Force series. Dude, it's awesome!"

Coji looked up at the turtle in orange with a confused frown, but said nothing as he returned to sketching in his book. Donnie shook his head. "He's too much of a science geek to care about those kinds of books Mikey."

Raphael and Michelangelo looked over at one another. "Says _our_ resident science geek."

Leo actually chuckled out loud. The sound of the turtle's light-hearted laugh startled Coji, and for a moment he could only stare at Leonardo's smile. Up 'til this moment, the apprentice had only seen Leo's face express fear, anger, pain, and variations thereof; the look of _happiness_ was something new.

But, it didn't last. Leo remembered where they were, and his smile faded into the look of tempered sadness; his brothers' faces followed suit. Coji almost felt bad. 'This isn't right.' he thought all at once, surprised he felt such sympathy for them, 'They shouldn't have to be scared, angry or in pain all the time.'

The loud slam of a door echoed into the little room; Coji almost jumped out of his skin. The turtles tensed as the young apprentice scrambled up, stuffing his book and pencil back into his secret pocket. Quickly he grabbed Leonardo and dragged him back over to the cage just as Aztragus came passed the curtain into the room.

"Meddlesome little sheila!" snapped the alchemist, "Do you know how long it took me to make up a story she actually believed?"

Mikey suddenly grinned, feeling a swell of pride at hearing he'd actually been able to wake Miss Ryn out of her coma-like slumber; that's why it'd taken Aztragus so long to come after them. Still, if Ryn believed whatever lie the astrologer had told her, then it was a safe bet she wouldn't be coming to their rescue any time soon.

"Are you talking about Miss Ryn?" asked Coji, trying to keep the topic off Leo, who lay on the doorstep of the open cage.

"_Yes_," grumbled Aztragus, then noticing his nervous apprentice. He looked down at the turtle in blue who was glaring through the corner of his eye. "What've you been doing?"

Coji almost started. "I-I was looking at the turtles." he said, recovering his composure nicely.

"OH?" asked the alchemist, "_Indeed_, they are _fascinating_, aren't they?" The villain's tone was smooth yet searing like acid; he hadn't taken his eyes from his apprentice.

Coji suddenly gasped, yelping in pain as Aztragus caught his ear hard between his thumb and forefinger. "You were writing notes in that little weathered book of yours, weren't you?"

"I-I—! _Yes_." whimpered Coji.

"Where is it?" demanded the astrologer, jerking the boy's ear back and forth; he held his hand out, "Come on, where is it?"

Coji didn't answer, only cried as his ear was pulled harder. As one might expect, there wasn't any great love for the boy in the hearts of the four ninjas present in the room, but, that didn't stop them from feeling bad for him, and they hated Aztragus all the more. 'He even abuses his own _kind_.' they thought.

Aztragus put his lips right up next to the boy's ear and bellowed. "_Give me the book!_"

Coji jerked wildly, his arms almost flailing as he reached for his secret pocket; he yanked forth his note book and Aztragus seized it immediately.

"Oh!" cried Coji, tearfully holding his ear, "Please don't destroy it Master! _Please_!"

The alchemist flipped through the pages, and found the turtle entry. He eyed the sketches Coji had done of Leo, and skimmed over the stats he'd written. "Hmm," he said, musing over the information, "Very interesting." He then shut the little book with a snap and shoved it into his breast pocket. "It might be useful later."

Coji reached out as if to take back the book, but he knew he couldn't; he even opened his mouth to say something, but didn't. He hung his head.

Aztragus moved to stand over Leonardo. "Ah, I see you've made your way back to my stronghold. I suppose I can't blame you, I do have a rather magnetic personality."

The turtles spit forth the best derogatory names they could think of to let the astrologer know exactly the kind of personality they thought he had.

Aztragus only laughed, and stooped, lugging Leonardo into a sitting position; he ordered his apprentice to take up the turtle's legs, and together they lifted him from the floor.

"Come!" said the villain, "I have much bloodletting to do before the morrow—starting with this one." And Leo gave a despairing moan as they carried him out passed the curtain.

* * *

The dawn came cold and dim, the light of the sun seeming distant, almost faint. The Lady IraVana didn't like it. Even as she dressed she was continually looking out her chamber windows, frowning with apprehension at the diffused light.

'Could it be?' she wondered, with cold fright, 'Could it really be the Darkening Time?'

A hard fast little knock came at her door, and the guard outside the room announced that little Ryn had come to call. The Lady was shaken from her thoughts by _this_ for her little sister was seldom awake at that early hour. "Enter!" she called, hurrying forward. Ryn came flying into the room, almost leaping into her big sister's arms. "Rynnie?" gasped the Lady, "What's the matter?"

"Irie!" she cried, "Oh Irie! He took them! He _took_ them and he's _hurting_ them!"

The Lady couldn't comprehend what Ryn was saying, and quickly pulled herself from the embrace. "What are you talking about?"

"That mean fiend Aztragus! He came last night and took them. I woke up and he was there, and the turtles were gone!"

"What?!" sounded her Ladyship, "He was _there_? But, I—! I gave orders for those turtles to be put in the Tower Keep!"

Miss Ryn shook her head. "No, but I wanted them with _me_." She suddenly clenched her fists, and gave herself a wild shake. "Oh! _But never mind that_! I went to see them just now —he said I could see them first thing in the morning— but when I tried to open the door, it was _locked_. And I could hear the turtles—they were crying! I-I tried to get the door open, but I couldn't!" Tears were streaming down the little girl's face. "He's hurting them Irie! We have to stop him! We have to save them!"

The Lady didn't understand the situation at all, for she knew nothing of the turtles being gathered in Ryn's room, or the barred sleeping arrangements that'd been set up for them. Still, she knew her little sister was not one to exaggerate, and, taking Rynnie's hand firmly in her own, the Lady moved boldly from the room.

'If Aztragus thinks he can go against _my_ orders,' thought she, fiercely, 'He's got another thing coming!'

* * *

Leonardo lay where Aztragus had discarded him, on the edge of the upper level. The door to the chamber was a ways behind him on the level below, but it meant little to Leo; nothing would come through that door that could help them now — it was already too late.

Tears were running from Leo's eyes to the stony floor beneath him, and he wheezed, having screamed himself hoarse; he'd screamed, for hours it seemed, for the man to stop hurting him and his brothers. But it had done little good.

Now his voice was raw and, like the rest of him, utterly useless. Leo squeezed his eyes shut. 'Curse me!' he thought, bitterly, '_Curse me!_'

He could hear Aztragus at the other end of the room, dragging something across the floor. Leonardo opened his eyes as the sound approached, and watched as Raphael was lumped down beside him in a broken heap.

Aztragus scowled at both of them. "The pair of you," he spat, "_Worthless_." The alchemist retreated then, his footsteps fading back to the other end of the chamber.

Leo's eyes widened. "Raph…" his voice was barely above a whisper, "_Raph_…" he croaked; Raphael didn't respond. Fresh tears welled from Leonardo's eyes: Raphael looked dead.

'_No_...' he thought, as his sorrow overwhelmed him, "_No.._!" The muscles in his throat tightened as he tried to choke back the grief stabbing his heart. _It hurt_—Leo squeezed his eyes shut—_everything hurt_—Leo started sobbing.

He didn't see Raphael's hand twitch. There was a small muscle spasm 'round Raph's bruised eye, and his eyelids parted. Leonardo almost choked on his gasp as his eyes snapped open; his brother's broken hand was resting on his arm. "D_oh_n," Raph slurred, fighting the sedation, "D_oh_n _giv_—up."

Leonardo stared in shocked awe. Even after everything Raphael had been through, he still had enough spirit left in him to encourage his big brother. "Raph," Leo rasped, wishing he could reach out; but he might as well have wished to sprout wings, because his body refused to move.

Raphael's eyes slid closed again, yet Leo was able to hear two words fall quietly from his mouth: "D_oh_n… _stop_..."

Aztragus was at the other end of the room, smiling down at the two youngest turtles. Mikey and Donnie were on their knees beside each other, their arms chained above their heads to the wall at their backs. They were only semi-conscious because the alchemist had given them tranquilizers, which made them decidedly more manageable.

Having tested the blood of each turtle in turn, the astrologer discovered, with relative ease, that only two of the four had inherited a fabled element. These long-awaited elements had been watched for since the birth of IraVana, and now that they had finally arrived, those they inhabited would be used by the Lady to save the world.

Aztragus would have proceeded to prep the youngest of the brothers for her Ladyship _had_ the door to the chamber not suddenly turned into a pile of sand. The Lady herself came storming in, closing a bag of red powder she'd used to eliminate the door. "Aztragus!"

The alchemist snapped 'round. "_Eh_?"

"What have you done?!" demanded the Lady.

The astrologer came forward, looking utterly confused. "What do you mean?"

IraVana spotted Leo and Raph lying at the edge of the upper level, not far from where Aztragus now stood. "The _turtles_," she barked, coming towards them, "Why are they here?! I ordered them to be put in the Keep so that they could rest, NOT be moved into your stronghold and subjected to your tests!"

Aztragus' brow creased. "I don't understand," said he, watching her inspect the damage done to the terrapins, "Surly finding you the living elements is all that matters."

The Lady stopped, bringing her eyes to meet those of the alchemist. "_Have_ you found them?"

Aztragus grinned. "_Indeed_."

The Lady was stunned. "After all these years?" she paused, "Does that mean, the Time of Darkening is finally upon us?"

"So it would appear." muttered the man, taking a brief glance backward at his crystal orb which still showed only swirling darkness.

"What are the elements inhabiting?" quizzed the Lady.

"The _other_ two turtles." answered Aztragus, "Do you want to see them?"

IraVana gave a curt nod, and followed her astrologer to the back of the chamber. Leonardo watched them pass, and grit his teeth. 'She didn't come here to help us.' he thought, as his consciousness started to fade.

Aztragus stood aside as the Lady looked down at the purple and orange-banded turtles. Don and Mike opened their tired eyes upon hearing her voice.

"So," spoke the Lady, addressing Donatello, "It's you and the one my sister chose. How very _ironic_." There was a hint of pleasure in her voice.

"_Please_," began Donnie, "Let us _go_."

Her Ladyship shook her head. "I can't let you go now, not when I've been waiting for you my whole life."

"_What_?" whimpered the turtles.

"My dear green-skinned creatures, you have been chosen by the elements themselves to embody their power. And with that power, I shall save my world from the darkness which is even now engulfing it." The Lady looked distant for a moment, then shook her head. "But come," she said to the alchemist, "Take them from their chains, they do not need to be treated in such a manner."

Aztragus looked startled. "Don't you want me to make them ready for you?"

IraVana shook her head. "You've abused them enough for one night. They need rest."

The astrologer paused for a moment or two before doing as he was ordered. Mikey and Donnie almost fell over when their arms were released from the shackles. Groaning painfully, the brothers drooped forward, lethargically rubbing their sore wrists.

"Where are our brothers?" asked Donnie. "Where're Leo and Raph?" Mikey joined in.

"Yes," said the Lady, looking at Aztragus, "Why _are_ the other two over there? Are they not possessed of elements as well?"

The alchemist adopted a blatantly disgusted frown. "Certainly NOT. I performed every possible test I could on them to determine if they were like these two. They are _not_. They are worthless."

The astrologer yelped in pain then as Michelangelo landed an uncoordinated kick into his shin. "_They are not worthless!_" he cried, and being unbalanced, fell against Donatello.

"You!" snarled Aztragus. He made ready to kick the offending turtle, but the Lady stopped him.

"They are now priceless," scolded her Ladyship, "And shall be treated as such."

Aztragus huffed and nodded. A sound came from the doorway as little Ryn came in followed by the healer Cornell. "What's this sand?" asked Cornell, looking down at what was formerly the door.

A squeak came from Ryn's throat when she sighted Raph and Leo where they lay, unmoving. She hurried up to them. "_Ooh_, not again!" she cried, seeing the terrible state they were in.

"_Oh_, my dear little friends," breathed Cornell, coming up by Ryn; he knelt to tend them. There was a thin trail of blood running from the corner of Leonardo's mouth. The healer gasped inwardly. '_Has he been kicked?_' "What's that monster _done_?"

Aztragus had barely made any effort to tend the injuries he'd inflicted, and the loose binds he'd wrapped 'round the turtles' bloodletting wounds were already soaked through.

Seeing the damage that had been done, Rynnie was suddenly filled with fright for the well-being of Michelangelo. She spun on her heels, racing towards her big sister. The turtle in orange was there, kneeling on the floor.

"Oh Michel!" cried the little girl, leaping towards him. Mikey caught her awkwardly and she wrapped her arms 'round his neck. "I was so worried about you!" she continued. Mikey slowly brought his arms around her small frame, looking towards Aztragus and the Lady; they were staring at him oddly. Donatello too, blinked, surprised at the girl's devotion to his baby brother.

"Hey, Miss Ryn?" asked Mikey, and she pulled back to look at him, "Could you like, get us out of here? I mean me and my bros _really_ hate this place, and — I'm _hungry_."

"YES!" chirped the little girl.

"Sustenance _is_ essential." agreed the Lady, "I shall send for the guard and have the turtles taken to the Tower so they can eat and rest."

"Oh _no_!" whined Rynnie, "Not that damp old Tower! Can't we put them in Sercy's old room instead?"

The Lady blinked. "Sercy's room? _Hmm_, well, the bed would certainly be big enough for the four of them." Her Ladyship shrugged. "Very well."

Little Miss Ryn clapped happily, then seized Michelangelo's hand. "Come on Michel! Follow me!"

Mikey almost fell forward. "I-I can't walk very well!" he said quickly.

"Oh," uttered the girl sadly, then brightened up again, "I'll go fetch the guardsmen! They'll help!" And off she ran before anyone could say anything.

Aztragus looked mildly perturbed over the whole turn of events. The Lady noticed this, and folded her arms. "They're not _going_ anywhere, star-seer. _So relax_. There'll be enough time to do what yet needs to be done."

The turtles frowned up at the woman before glaring at the man who had spent the better part of the night making them suffer.

"If you say so." grumbled the man.

A few moments later, several guards came into the room, some moving towards Cornell while others followed Ryn up to Donnie and Mikey.

Donatello shook his head; he was starting to get a headache. He doubted any of the people around them could be trusted, and wanted nothing more than for him and his brothers to escape. 'But _how_?' he wondered, as a guard came over by his side, 'How do we get away from these people considering the shape we're in?'

Mikey and Donnie were lifted to their shaky feet, Ryn warning the guards to be careful with the turtles and not go faster than they could walk.

Upon passing their big brothers, Don and Mike's eyes widened; Raphael and Leonardo weren't moving, and Cornell looked to be working frantically to patch them up so they could be moved by the guards.

The two youngest turtles looked to one another worriedly, and were led from the room.

* * *

"Ow!" cried Mikey, wanting to jerk away, "Ow, ow, _ow_!"

"I'm sorry!" apologized Cornell's first daughter, as she proceeded to clean his bloodletting wound, "I'm trying to be _careful_."

"_Finesse_, Atha my dear." her father reminded her from across the way, "Always remember, apply your healing with _finesse_."

Mike and Don were sitting on opposite sides of the enormous bed that was the centerpiece of the room. They could hear Raph and Leo moaning painfully, their big brothers having been laid atop blankets on the floor. Leo was near the foot of the bed, while Raph was to the side of the bed.

Having been moved from Aztragus' chamber of horrors, the four turtles were then brought quickly to Sercy's room to have their injuries mended. Of course, tending the four injured turtles all at once had been too great a task for Cornell alone, which is why he'd called for the assistance of his children —twin girls and a boy— all three in their teens.

Asha, Atha's twin sister, was seeing to Donatello's needs while her father was busy tending Raphael, who was the worst of the four considering the guardsmen had injured him beforehand. Leonardo was almost as bad off, but was in the capable hands of Cornell's son Aden.

"Don't worry," Cornell urged, running a cool rag along Raph's face, "Once we clean and wrap your wounds, my children will be able to use their skills in aural healing. That will greatly improve your condition." Raphael didn't say anything, only gave his head a feeble shake.

Donnie looked down at the skillful work of the girl called Asha as she finished rewrapping his arms. "Thank you." he said to her. Asha sat back and looked as though she might attend to something else. But instead, her face brightened as she smiled into Donatello's eyes. "Ready?" she asked.

Donnie blinked. "_Ready_?"

Asha didn't realize Don was asking a question and closed her eyes, raising the palms of her hands towards his chest. The turtle in purple didn't know what this meant, but was amazed when he saw a faint golden glow form against the skin of her palms. Asha then pushed her hands up against Donnie's plastron, and he gave a breathless gasp as a swell of warmth pushed through into his chest cavity.

Don was so startled he almost grabbed her arms to pull her hands away. But then, he stopped, for he felt a stirring deep within him, a power and a renewing energy that began spreading through his bones, and blood and muscle. Donnie didn't know what was happening, but he suddenly felt so comfortable; his eyes slid closed and his head tipped backward, his whole body relaxing.

Mike blinked curiously over his shoulder. "Donnie?"

Asha flinched all at once and pulled her hands away, quickly tucking them under her arms. It took a moment for Donnie to come back to reality, his head dropping back down and eyes opening listlessly.

"What..?" he asked, then looked at the girl, "Are you, _okay_? What did you just do?"

She tried to smile as she raised her face towards him, but sweat was sliding down her brow. "I was providing you with healing." she said, "We are a family of healers. We can use the energy of our life-force to speed the recovery of anyone who is injured." She cast her eyes downward. "Unfortunately, aural healing isn't a perfect fix for it takes too much out of us. Therefore we can never induce a complete and total recovery. _I'm sorry_."

Donnie realized what she was saying, and quickly shook his head. "Oh, _no_, you don't have to apologize! You've already done so much, I couldn't expect you to do _more_."

Asha raised her eyes, looking into Donatello's. "Thank you." she said.

"No, thank you." Don replied, lightly rubbing his arms.

Atha smiled and drew Mikey's attention back to her. "Are _you_ ready?" she quizzed, rising from the edge of the bed and standing before him.

"You mean," Mike's brow creased, "You're gonna do what she did?"

Atha nodded. Michelangelo looked unsure. "Well, I _guess_…" he said. Atha proceeded to do as her sister had done, closing her eyes and raising her palms towards Mikey's chest. Mike swallowed, feeling inordinately nervous especially after seeing Don's reaction: head tipped back, eyes closed.

Of course, in the next instant, he found out why his older brother had reacted so. Mikey let out a soft moan as his head dipped down, almost touching the top of his plastron; there wasn't one bit of tension in his entire body. A moment or so later, Atha pulled her hands away and Mikey suddenly fell backward, landing against the dark gray top-sheet.

Donnie's eyes widened as a result, and he turned, crawling across the bed to his little brother. "Mikey?" he asked, leaning over him.

Michelangelo let loose a luxurious sigh, stretching his arms out to each side. "Aww man, I feel sooo _good_."

Donatello grinned. "Yeah? Then maybe you should thank Asha's sister."

Mikey's expression changed as he realized he'd almost forgotten the girl. He sat bolt upright, Donnie moving his head at the last possible second to avoid Mike's skull crashing into his chin.

"Uh, _thanks_ Atha." Mike chuckled, Donnie frowning at the back of his head, "That was really awesome!"

"You're welcome." Atha replied. Although she too was sweating, she seemed to have fared better than her twin.

"_No_!" Leo wailed of a sudden, getting the attention of everyone in the room.

"I-I'm sorry!" said Aden, pulling back. His sisters and Leo's baby brothers came forward to see what'd happened. Even Raph opened his eyes groggily.

Cornell frowned. "What did you do?"

"I, I was just looking at his mouth. I didn't mean to _hurt_ him, I'm not even sure _how_ I did. It's just, well there're some abrasions along this turtle's mouth and bruising around his beak." Aden felt very self-conscious with everyone looking at him. "I just wanted to make sure that there weren't also injuries inside his mouth."

Leo gave a slight whimper from his throat, his eyes shut tightly. Donnie frowned perceptively. "I think I know what it is." he said. The healers then watched as Donnie climbed down beside his big brother, and bent, whispering in his ear. "It's okay," Don said kindly, giving Leo's hairless head a comforting stroke, "We're safe and you're going to be all right."

Leo nodded weakly, and Donatello turned in order to explain to the humans. "That _Aztragus_," began Don, "Leo told us that he'd been _forced_ to swallow those poison leaves. And, based on these injuries you just described, it looks like it was a pretty violent affair." 'Especially knowing how hard my brother can fight.' thought Donnie to himself, glancing down at Leonardo. "Being somewhat disoriented," he continued, "Leo must've thought that you, when you were opening his mouth, were going to try and make him swallow something."

"Mm-_hmm_," Leo murmured, nodding, "I'm, _sorry_," he croaked, "I didn't realize…"

Aden blinked rapidly, and shook his head. "No, _I'm_ the one who didn't know. _I'm_ _sorry_."

Cornell smiled softly, and leaned in towards his son. "You have tended his wounds quite nicely, my son. Why don't you apply your aural skill now?"

Aden smiled at his father and nodded, turning his attention back to Leonardo. Like his sisters before him, Aden held his hands side-by-side and pressed them down onto Leo's plastron, right over the turtle's stomach area.

Leo gulped in a great gasp of air all at once. Mikey tensed, watching as Donnie then reached out, placing a firm hand on Leo's shoulder. "Just relax," Donatello breathed, "You're going to feel a lot better real soon."

Leo did as his brother bade him, and soon felt a great sense of wellbeing washing over him. As the aural magic spread through him, Leo realized his pain was subsiding.

Still, while Aden was working with Leo, Cornell motioned to his daughters to come and do the same for Raphael. They came quickly, positioning themselves on either side of the supine turtle.

Raph's eyelids parted, and he looked at the pair of them as they placed their hands on his plastron. Michelangelo then watched as the twin girls closed their eyes, and pushed their combined power straight into Raphael.

Raph sucked in a great gasp of shock, his eyes flung wide. Following Donnie's example, Mikey quickly got down by his burly brother. "_Dude_, Raph, it's all right!" he said, and Raphael looked up at him, "Believe me, it's gonna feel _real_ good here in a minute. Just wait 'n see!"

"_Uhhgh_!" Raph was groaning; and then he stopped. Mike's eyes widened. All at once Raph let out one long sigh, and his eyes fell closed; Mikey grinned.

A few moments later, the twins sat back, and their father patted their shoulders proudly. "You've done well my dears." said he. Atha and Asha looked a bit worn out, but nodded in acknowledgement; combining their power had mitigated most of the backlash.

Blinking sleepily at the people around him, Raphael brought his hands up onto his plastron to rest; he felt much better. The twins smiled at him before nodding to each other; they rose and moved away.

Michelangelo cleared his throat, catching Cornell's attention before he had a chance to do same. "Uh, sir," began Mike, "I was kinda wondering… I mean, I've been watching your kids use all their awesome healing magic to make my bros and me well again. But, the girls did it twice. I mean, no disrespect or anything, but… How come? Why are the three of them doing it all? Can't you do the same thing?"

A solemn smile came across Cornell's lips. "Not anymore, I'm afraid. You see, my children are much younger than I am. They're brand new healers as it were, and they are therefore able to use their aura-energies freely. Unfortunately for me, I've reached the age where, if I continued to drain my life-force, the loss of energy would quickly cause my soul to fade into oblivion—I would die."

"_Whoa_," Mike blinked, sitting up straight, "Okay, totally good reason!"

Raph was half-listening to the conversation, his mind wandering comfortably through random thoughts; though, his attention refocused when Cornell stood.

"Father!" called Aden. Cornell jerked 'round at the alarm in his son's voice, and went quickly to him.

Mikey made to follow, but Raphael caught his ankle, jerking him to a halt. Mike's eyes spun downward, lighting on Raph's grumpy face. "Hey!" snapped Raph, "Help me up!"

"_Dude_." was all Mikey could say as he got down beside Raph. Michelangelo got Raph's arm across his shoulders and brought him up onto his unsteady feet. That's when Raphael realized everyone had gathered around Leonardo near the foot of the bed.

"What's _wrong_?" he asked.

"I d'know." answered Mikey, "Let's find out." They moved forward.

"No," Cornell was saying, in a calm voice, "It's understandable. Some poisons excel at resisting the powers of a healer."

"So, even though Aden's aural magic has helped all the other afflictions of this turtle," clarified Asha, "He still can't move?"

"Indeed," said her father, "The paralysis induced by Okum leaves is not so easily defeated."

"That's stupid!" spat Raph, out of the blue.

"Whoa, wait a second!" Donnie held up his hands, moving his eyes from Raphael back to Cornell, "What about that remedy you told me about last night?"

"I _have_ it." Cornell answered, smiling tiredly. He glanced back towards the thin-legged table near the door; there was a satchel upon it. "I had to work through the night to make it." he explained. Atha fetched the satchel to him, and from within Cornell withdrew a red pot-bellied bottle. "This contains the elixir that will counteract the effects of the Okum leaves."

The turtles smiled. "Yes," breathed Leo, almost tearfully, "Yes, _please_."

Cornell rose. "Come, let's move him onto the bed."

Raphael immediately perked up: he wanted to help. But as he tried to step away from Mikey, he suddenly dipped; his legs would've collapsed beneath him had Mikey not had a decent hold on him. "What the _shell_?" hissed Raph, in utter frustration.

"S'okay bro." Mikey said, pulling Raphael upright again. There was a carved wooden post at each corner of the bed, and Mikey moved Raph to the nearest of these. "Just take it easy." Mike coaxed as he set Raph at the bed's edge, "You 'n Leo got it worse than Don and I did, so just relax."

"Yes," Donnie spoke up, "Don't try to push yourself too soon, Raph."

"_Yes_." agreed Cornell, "That would be most unwise."

Raphael frowned but he didn't offer any rebuttals. Mikey moved around, across from Donnie and, together with Aden and the twins, lifted Leonardo from the floor. They brought the turtle in blue 'round to the bedside, laying him just a ways up from where Raphael was sitting.

Leo sank into the softness of the bed; the floor had been so extraordinarily hard that the sudden comfort was an amazing relief. Don and Mike tried to arrange Leo in a more comfortable manner while Cornell focused on measuring out the right amount of elixir.

Raphael was observing everything, gold-brown eyes darting back and forth as he kept a close eye on all the humans. Asha and Atha had moved to sit in the nearest chairs, while Aden remained by his father's side, observing Cornell's method of measurement. Since Leonardo had been placed in his care, Aden felt he should see the turtle's treatment through to the end.

Cornell realized this, and as soon as he'd measured off the right amount, extended the small glass toward his son. "Here," he said, "I believe your patient is eager for this."

Aden took the glass carefully and turned to the oldest of the turtles. "Can one of you sit him up so he can swallow this?"

"Of course!" sounded Donnie. "No problem dude!" grinned Mikey.

Leonardo had no problems working his jaw; he could not however, lift or turn his head, and he had to remind his brothers of this once they'd sat him up. So, while Michelangelo held onto Leo's shoulders in order to steady him, Donatello lifted and held his head upright.

Aden then brought the small glass up to his patient's face, and Leo gladly accepted it. Surprisingly, the elixir was tasteless, almost like water except that it was a bit thicker and had a gritty texture. Leonardo squished his tongue up against the roof of his mouth, making sure he took in every bit of the curative liquid.

"You should start to feel a tingle soon." informed Cornell, as Mike and Don leaned Leo back against the pillows. "When you do, be sure to let us know."

"I will." Leo replied.

Aden handed his father back the glass, and Cornell put it and the red bottle back into his satchel. Aden stared at his patient, realizing how very comfortable Leonardo looked all at once; he couldn't help but smile.

Cornell was watching his son, and as the young healer finally turned towards him, Cornell caught him lightly 'round the back of the neck. "You did good." he said, winking proudly, "You'll make a fine healer one of these days." He turned to include his daughters. "You _all_ will." The three teens smiled.

"Do we wait now?" asked Atha, after a moment.

"Of course!" said Asha, "We have to make sure the turtle can move again before we leave."

"Indeed." spake Cornell, finding another chair to sit in. Aden didn't mind taking a seat on the floor.

Raphael was still eyeing each of them; he didn't know what to think of the humans. He only knew he wasn't sure if they were completely trustworthy. 'After all,' he thought, 'They're just doin' this 'cause the Lady told 'em to.'

A strange little sound came from Leonardo's throat. His brothers' eyes widened. "What's the matter?" quizzed Donnie.

Leo looked down at his hand: it was trembling. He smiled. "A tingle—! I-I'm starting to feel it!"

"Oh, righteous!" shouted Mikey. Raphael's face lit up with a grin.

"Splendid." said Cornell, rising. He came forward, taking hold of Leonardo's arm; he began rubbing it vigorously between his hands while the turtles looked on, glancing at one another. "It helps to bring the blood to the surface." Cornell explained.

"Really?"

"Yes." Cornell suddenly stopped when Donatello placed a halting hand on the arm he was working with.

"It's okay. We can do it." Don was smiling, but something in his tone told the healer he'd better let go. Cornell rose, backing away. And Leo's three siblings started giving their big brother a hardy rub down. It almost hurt! But Leo wasn't about to complain, and quietly endured what would soon result in a very good thing.

Raphael was grinning; having flopped Leo's legs across his lap, Raph was now busy grinding his knuckles into the muscles. "Yessiree," he said, "We're gonna get'cha fightin' fit! And these legs of yours back to kickin' butt like they should be!"

Leonardo managed to grin despite the mild pain he was in. "Sounds, _good_." he grunted.

Seeing the turtles had the task of reviving Leo's dormant muscles _well_ in hand, the old healer turned to his children. "You may leave if you wish."

Asha, Atha, and Aden blinked. "Really?"

"Why _yes_." he said, repressing a yawn, "You've all done fine work and I don't see why—"

"_Ow_! Okay, okay! _Okay_!" Leo spouted, struggling in his siblings' clutches, "I think we're there!" That's when Leo realized he was actually moving. And as Donnie and Mikey released his arms, he slowly brought his hands up before his eyes — his face became the quintessence of joy. Control of his body was _his_ once again.

Leo sat bolt upright, and steadied himself. 'I can move again!' He looked down at his legs and wiggled his toes. A tremendous smile spread across his face. Leo suddenly sprang up. "I can move!"

Unfortunately, Leonardo's foot came down on the bed's edge and slipped right off; the turtle in blue crashed down against the hard floor.

"Leo!" sounded his brothers. But the twin girls reached him before they could, having jumped up immediately.

"Are you all right?" they asked.

"I, _I'm okay_…" Leo groaned as Atha and Asha each took an arm. They helped him up and drew him back to the bed. Asha spoke up with a suggestion. "I think you ought to lie in the middle of the bed instead of on the edge." "Yeah!" Atha agreed, "You know, just in case you decide to start jumping around again."

Leo gave an embarrassed smile. "The middle sounds good." he said. He crawled onto the bed feeling very tired; the fall had somehow sapped all of his energy, and now he hurt in new places. Don fluffed the center pillow just as Leo collapsed onto it; he moaned and then was quiet.

"Well," began Cornell, "I guess that's it for us. We'll leave you four to rest if there's nothing else you need us to do."

"No." said Raph, curtly; he just wanted the humans to go away.

"No thank you," said Donnie, "We're fine."

Mikey waved to the healers as they turned away. "Thanks for everything you guys."

"_Cornell_," came Leonardo's voice. The old healer paused, and turned back. Leo had leaned up and was looking intently at the man. "Thank you." he said, "I am grateful to be able to move again. And appreciate the effort you put into making that medicine."

Cornell smiled; one could see he was dreadfully tired having stayed up all through the night. Still, he nodded, directing a slight bow toward the turtle, and left.

Leo felt better having expressed his gratitude, and lay back down. Michelangelo however, was rubbing his belly plate and looked unhappy. "Dudes, I'm _still_ hungry. Aren't you?"

"No _duh_, Mikey." grumbled Raph. He made to stand, but it wasn't easy. The majority of his injuries were gone now, but a great soreness stirred in him each time he made a move. He rose and lumbered toward Mikey, jerking his thumb over his shoulder. "MOVE. I'm layin' on this side."

Mike frowned. "_Sheesh_, yes siiiir." he said, and stood, moving aside.

Raph flopped down unceremoniously on the bed, eliciting an unhappy groan from Leo. "Sorry," mumbled Raph, crunching his pillow under his head.

Mike looked at Don, and vice versa. The two would have proceeded to find spots on the bed for themselves had the door to the chamber not clicked and opened.

Raph looked back angrily. _'Oh_, why don't they just leave us alone?'

A number of people dressed in servants' garb came walking in holding trays. A fat smile spread across Mikey's face as his eyes lit up. "Food!"

Ryn came skipping in with the group, smiling like the summer sun. "We're here!" she announced, before suddenly hanging her head, "I'm sorry you had to wait so long. Irie wouldn't let us come in 'til the healers had left."

Mikey waved his three-fingered hands. "No problems Miss Ryn! Food's here now, that's all that matters!"

Two lengthy tables were set up, both at the foot of the bed as well as along one side, and the multitude of trays were set atop these. The turtles made their way up to the tables, seating themselves at the bed's edge. It all smelled so good! The four green-skinned brothers looked across the sumptuous feast, realizing, with some shock, that they had not eaten since they were taken from their underground home.

"Man alive!" sounded Raph, grabbing the first chunk of meat within reach.

Ryn smiled as the turtles dug in. To the little girl's surprise, the turtles ate everything in sight within a relatively short amount of time. "Do you, want _more_?" asked she.

"There's more?" Mikey's eyes widened, and he smiled delightedly, "Then yes! _Yes_!"

Ryn nearly sweat-dropped. She had all the trays collected before she and the servants headed out of the room; the door clicked shut — the brothers were alone again.

Mikey leaned back, supported by his elbows, and let out a belch. "Man," he said, contentedly, "We're moving up in the world."

Donatello frowned in response. "That's what worries me." And it was here that he realized Raph and Leo needed to know everything the Lady and Aztragus had said to one another.

Upon hearing the recounted conversation, Leonardo blinked, brow creasing. He and Raphael glanced at one another before turning their attention back to Donatello. "You mean Aztragus told her _you two_ have whatever these elements are?"

Mike and Don nodded, and looked at each other. "I'm assuming that's why that _devil_ didn't hurt us as much as he did you."

Raph tensed slightly, and began absently rubbing one of the larger scabs on his arm. Leo's hands balled into fists as his mind flashed back to the dark hours he and his brothers had just lived through.

The pain he'd personally suffered at the hands of the alchemist had been nothing compared to the pain he'd felt at being unable to help his brothers; their cries had filled the chamber, making Leo insane in his paralysis, trapped in his own body being unable rise to their defense. All he'd had was his voice, which he used to its limits, demanding and then pleading— _all to no avail_. Indeed, his shouting had only brought him more pain, for the alchemist would stride over and land as many vicious kicks into Leonardo as it took to make him silent. This happened again and again, until it became like a horrific game, a game Aztragus enjoyed playing.

The chamber door clicked, breaking Leo from his wrathful reminiscence. Ryn came in again, leading still more maids and man-servants all carrying trays piled high with savory food and sweet drinks. "Here you go!" said Rynnie gleefully, as the trays were set before the four ninjas.

Without hesitation the turtles downed every last morsel, amazing little Ryn yet again. Nevertheless, when she asked if they wanted more, they at last declined. At that, the servants proceeded to clear away everything, including the tables, with amazing efficiency. They left Ryn in the room with the door to the chamber still open.

"Uh," the little girl uttered, realizing it was time for the turtles to rest. She was eyeing Michelangelo. In her heart she wanted to take the orange-banded turtle with her, after all, she had a place for him to rest in her own room. "I, uh," she said.

Mikey could clearly see what it was she wanted though she had yet to say it; his face creased. 'No,' he pleaded silently, _'Don't_ ask me. Please don't _take_ me. I don't want to go.'

Donnie, Leo and Raph looked at the pair of them, all at once aware that there was a strangely muted fretting going on between them.

Eventually Ryn lowered her face, shoulders sagging with disappointment. 'It wouldn't be right to take him from his brothers.' she thought, morosely, 'After all, I wasn't a very good steward the first time around, letting him get taken by that _fiend_.'

The turtles watched as she turned aside, walking up to the two big windows in the room; she went from one to the other, grasping the long black curtains and drawing them closed. "I hope you have a good rest." she said at last. She sighed and exited the room, shutting the door after her.

Mikey puffed out a breath. "Phew! I thought she was gonna wanna take me with her!"

"Yeah, lucky you." said Donnie, alert to the fact that the girl's consideration of his baby brother went above even her own desires; his eyes narrowed. "Tell me Mikey, what _is_ this strange little relationship you have going on with her?"

Raph and Leo glanced at one another.

Mikey's eyes were half lidded, his brow hard and bottom lip jutted out as he turned to face his purple-banded brother. "_Excuse _me_?_"

"_Well_," goaded Don, "You two seem to be pretty _tight_. I mean she'll practically do _any_thing for you."

"_Dude_!" exclaimed Michelangelo, "Do you have any idea how many birthday parties I've been to? I _know_ how to handle kids, alright! Rynnie and I just happen to get along! She likes me, and I kinda like her! What's wrong with that?"

Don covered his mouth to stifle the laugh ejecting from it. "OH! So now you're calling her Rynnie! No more _Miss_? You two must really be getting close!"

"Shut up _Don_!" barked Mike, tackling his brother against the bed. But Donnie only kept on laughing. Leonardo and Raphael only shrugged to one another, not having the first clue as to what this whole outburst was about.

A little while later, after everything had calmed down, the four brothers found themselves glancing roundabout as they lay lined up in the gigantic bed. They hadn't any idea who Sercy was, but the room that formerly belonged to this person was immense, and dark. The gray-paneled walls surrounding them were tall, and the ceiling towered high overhead. The wood of the floor was also dark and covered over by an enormous floor-rug, dark yet whimsically decorated.

Everywhere there were shadows now that the curtains had been closed, but these shadows weren't the dark scary kind; no, for the shadows that lay 'round this room seemed instead to beckon the occupants to slumber, whispering of a sanctuary that could be found only in sleep.

The four turtles blinked in the dimness; the only light coming into the room was that which now dared creep in along the curtains' edges. Mikey blinked sleepily and turned, snuggling against Leo's side. "Man, I like it here." he said, "It…feels _safe_."

Donnie and Raph were nodding as they too came to this same realization. Leo sighed with relief, and licked his lips, surprised he could still taste the meal he and his brothers had just finished. But then his thoughts wandered to more serious matters.

It was strange, he thought, that the humans had left them entirely alone, not leaving behind even_ one_ of Winsul's men to guard them. 'What does that mean?' wondered Leo, tiredly, 'Don't they think we'll try to escape?' his brow creased, 'Are they so confident in their ability to keep hold of us?'

Mikey shifted a bit, and Leo looked down at him; Michelangelo had forsaken his own pillow in favor of Leonardo's arm, and Leo smiled, shaking his head.

Donatello was on the other side of Mikey. He noticed the pillow that Mike had abandoned and reached out, bringing it over for himself. "We should be trying to get out of here." he said, sleepily.

"No _kiddin'_." yawned Raph, rolling from his back onto his side. He eyed Michelangelo a moment, frowning slightly at how peaceful he looked at Leo's side. Raphael felt jealous all at once; Leo didn't fail to see this.

With rest being the most important thing right at the moment, the turtle in blue slid his free arm up, even with his shoulder. "I've got another side bro." he said matter-o-factly, and pointed.

Suddenly flustered, Raphael grabbed Leo's arm and shoved it back into place so that Leo's hand was now resting on his own plastron. "I don't want your arm around me!" hissed Raph.

Leo's brow creased, but he smiled knowingly.

Raph's cheeks almost puffed out. "_Oh_ shut up and lemme use your shoulder!"

Leo suppressed a chuckle as Raph scooted in and, firmly holding his big brother's arm in place, let his head rest half on the pillow and half on Leo's shoulder.

Leonardo sighed as quietly as he could before looking over at Donatello. Don was staring at Leo's hand, which was lightly gripping Mikey's shoulder. Realizing Donnie was eyeing his hand for a reason, Leo lifted it calmly, and held it upright in midair for a moment.

Donatello looked over, smiling sheepishly as he then took Leo's hand. Donnie knew it was silly, but, like his other brothers, he only felt _better_ falling asleep in a strange place when he had contact with Leo in some way. He didn't know why, _he just felt safer_.

Don nestled into his dark gray pillows. "You know," he uttered, "We really should be looking for a way out."

"I know." answered Leo, knowing all too well that only their own exhaustion kept them in the room. His eyelids were beginning to close.

"We're going to regret this…" mumbled Donatello, his voice fading into silence.

Leo sighed inwardly. "I know…"


	4. Fangs and Claws

Hello again! Sorry for the delayed update!

Welcome to treacherous Chapter 4! I call it that because I've had SO much _trouble_ with it! I actually rewrote the beginning of this chapter four different times before settling on what we now have here. And then, as if that indecision wasn't enough of a delay, before I could actually finish the chapter I hurt my neck and shoulder which made it very hard to type; the pain made it too hard to concentrate on what I was writing - it took me a week to recover from that and get back to the story. 6_6 Anyway, it's here now and I really hope you enjoy.

Also, for those of you who didn't know, I went back and revised Chapter 3 - it now features a brand new scene that expands, in detail, on the healers and their care of the turtles! ^_^ So, if you read Chap 3 prior to the beginning of January (2013), please check out the new stuff in this newly Extended Edition of Chapter 3.

Now! Ever onwards! Please enjoy what follows...

* * *

**Chapter 4: Fangs and Claws**

The turtles were sleeping, all four, as they had been doing the entire day, waking only to turn or adjust their pillows. The humans did not disturb the turtles, though they did come in several times to check on them, each time finding them still asleep.

Yet, when the night came on at last, something changed. Leonardo felt it even in his half-sleep. He stirred ever so slightly, being not quite awake, and thought he felt a presence in the room.

His brow furrowed at the thought, and he tried to rouse himself, but his sleep had been so deep up to that moment that even as he tried to awaken, the sweetness of his slumber wrapped itself around him, telling him everything he heard and felt was only the stuff of dreams. Leo could not resist, and was soon asleep once again.

But there _was_ something in the room, a large shape which moved towards the turtles through the shadows of the chamber; it was breathing heavily in spite of its otherwise stealthy actions. A second figure was close behind, being just as massive as the first, and the two creatures moved together, coming up on both sides of the bed. Their breathing was quick and labored, their tongues flopping forward over their jagged fangs.

Leonardo twitched, becoming semi-conscious again. 'It isn't a dream.' he realized, 'Something _is_ in the room.'

"Those are not the ones." whispered the voice of the first beast, speaking as though he could not form words without also growling, "_These_ are the ones." The beast leaning over Mikey and Donnie quickly retreated, and joined its fellow at the opposing bedside.

With great effort, Leonardo opened his heavy eyelids and saw only the darkness of the chamber. Raphael grunted as he was lifted from the bed. Leo heard this and started to turn, but the other creature then reached beneath him, lifting him away from the blankets and into its own furry arms.

Leo sucked in his breath, eyes now fearfully wide, for he was staring into the face of a beast whose eyes and fangs could be seen even in the darkness. Leo almost trembled, for he knew what this creature was; he'd seen its kind many times in Mikey's movies, spreading human blood across the landscape as it ripped them to shreds:_ it was a werewolf_. And the fur of the one holding him was a brilliant white.

"_Say nothing_." the wolf growled to him, and turned. Fear sparked within Leo's breast, for he saw he was being carried towards a great black opening in the wall, an aperture that had been concealed amongst the paneling. The turtles were being kidnapped — by wolves!

Raphael had already been carried down into the darkness of the secret passage, and his panicked shouts were irate yet trimmed with fear. "No!" cried Leo as his wits returned to him, and he began jerking wildly in order to free himself. Wanting to avoid the aid his captive's shouts would bring, the white wolf immediately dropped Leo's legs, and seized the turtle's beak in his enormous paw-hand. "_Mmm_!"

Giving a final glance at Mike and Don —who seemed to be stirring— the wolf then pulled the struggling Leo into the passage and shut the panel.

Leonardo was in total darkness now. The wolf picked him up once again and began hastening downward through the confines of the passageway. The wolf still held Leo's beak, and while Leonardo was fighting fiercely, he was doing so mainly to get his mouth free. He could still hear Raphael's echoing shouts in the distance: "_Ahgh_! Lemme go!"

With a mighty jerk, Leo finally pulled his beak free; he gasped a breath. "Who are you?!" he cried, "Why are you taking me and my brother?! What do you want?!"

"You will find out soon enough!" stated the white wolf. Leonardo was soon brought into a dimly lit area where stood a black-haired boy; Raph had already been deposited before the child.

Raph looked back at hearing the white wolf enter, and was startled to see his big brother had also been snatched; for a moment he feared they _all_ had been taken from the room, but, soon realized it was just the two of them. He was marginally relieved because, whatever horrible things were about to happen to him and Leo, at least their baby brothers were being kept out of it.

Leonardo was brought forward and plopped down beside Raphael. Leo's face snapped up, meeting the young boy's familiar eyes, for indeed, the child was Aztragus' apprentice.

"Coji!" he hissed, "What's the meaning of this?!" Leo's voice was demanding; verily, he sounded unafraid, but in truth his heart was pounding and his stomach was churning into a knot, for logic told him if Coji was there then the evil astrologer was likely not far away.

Raphael was giving the two man-wolves momentary glances. He was as frightened as Leo, but was equally as unwilling to show it. "Yeah!" he barked, "What's that pukin' freak Aztragus want to do t'us now?"

The hue in Coji's eyes seemed to dampen. "A great many awful things." he replied, brow creased, "Honestly, I don't understand his hatred for you… It's as if the very fact that you're alive makes him crazy, which I don't understand because finding the elements was his one goal and finding them should make him as happy as it does the rest of us! But the way he stormed around his stronghold today, _ranting_—I thought he'd gone mad!" Coji was almost at a loss to explain. "Something's happened to him that I just don't understand. He should want to honor you and your brothers, yet he has become absolutely obsessed with the thought of making you suffer!"

Leo and Raph felt themselves shrinking back at the boy's words; they almost felt sick with dread. "And," began Leo, chest heaving as his breath began to quicken, "And you're going to help him,"

Coji frowned suddenly. "Certainly not!" he snapped, "What do you think _they're_ here for?"

The turtles were startled when Coji indicated the wolves who were standing on their two hind legs several yards behind them. "_What do you mean?"_ asked Leo.

"Look, we're getting you out of here _tonight_. If we don't, you're doomed, because Aztragus intends to talk to the Lady IraVana in the morning to see if he can't take official possession of you two. And, considering you don't currently have elements, I'm sure the Lady will allow him to do so since she's so distracted with all the preparations she's making for your brothers."

"Whoa, whoa, _whoa_," said Raph, "Wha'da you mean '_currently'_?"

"Preparations?" said Leo, at the same time, "What kind preparations is she making for Mikey and Don?"

The boy buried his face in his hands, growling in frustration. "Do you really want to sit around here talking all night? You do realize Aztragus can find you anywhere so long as you're on the Lady's land! If you don't get out of here before he has a chance to speak with her, you're _his_! And rescuing you then will be ten times harder, especially considering you'll wish for death after going through what _he_ has planned."

Leo was chilled by the news of their current situation, but he shook his head. "_Argh_, it doesn't matter what kind of danger we're in! We can't just leave our brothers!"

"Ya got that straight!" said Raph, shifting his hard stare from Leo to Coji, "You think we'd leave our little bros to that nut-bag just to save our own shells?"

Coji rolled his eyes. "They're not in any danger from him now that they've been officially recognized as Elemental Vessels! What's important _now_ is getting you two to safety until you get _your_ elements!"

The masked brothers paused: what had they just heard? Leo held up his three-fingered hand. "Okay, wait a second, I distinctly remember that fruitcake spitting at us and calling us worthless." Raph was nodding vigorously. "_Yeah_!"

Coji gave a scoffing grunt. "And you believed him? He can only detect the elements once they've taken possession of their host, so of course he would label you as such."

Raph and Leo looked at one another. "But then how d'_you_ know any different?" quizzed Raphael.

"Argh!" cried Coji, stamping his foot angrily, "Enough with the questions! You can find out everything you want to know at Lord Sercy's estate!"

The brothers perked up at hearing this, even as Coji motioned the wolves forward. Raph leaned in to Leo. "Wasn't that the name of the guy whose room they put us in?"

"I think so."

The white wolf and his gray comrade took hold of the turtles, bringing them to their feet. "Hey!" snapped Raph. "What're you doing?!" called Leo.

"The Kaynens are going to take you to his Lordship. It will be much easier for you if you don't fight them."

Leonardo and Raphael hesitated to accept this, after all, they weren't afraid of the wolves even though the beasts were nearly twice their size; they had only been frightened before because, well, getting stolen from your bed by _anything_ in the middle of the night is fear-provoking. Still, after everything Coji had said, did the turtles really have any choice other than to go with them?

Leo spoke up. "Can we at least say goodbye to our brothers? They'll be worried about us. They need to know what's going on."

"No they don't!" shouted Coji, "The Lady can't know Lord Sercy is behind your removal from the Manor. Everyone here must remain in the dark about your whereabouts. I will let your brothers know you are safe if I get the chance, but that's all I can do. Now quickly!"

Leo and Raph didn't like the secretive aspect of the situation, but didn't know how to say anything to the contrary as Coji turned and caught up two large leather saddlebags; he tossed them to the white wolf. "Some provisions for the road." he said, "There's also some Ene-rope bundles in there in case these turtles ultimately decide not cooperate. They cannot be allowed to slow you down."

The wolves nodded, but the turtles took the mention of the ropes as a direct threat. The white wolf handed one of the bags to his gray-furred comrade, and they strapped them 'round their waists. Then, without warning, the wolves each took hold of a turtle and swung them up onto their backs.

This greatly startled Raph and Leo, at first, but as the wolves went down on all fours the two terrapins quickly realized they were more or less in the saddle. Coji went to the far wall and pushed against a patch of brick which turned out to be a hidden door to the outside.

"Good luck." said the boy, as the wolves and their passengers passed through, entering into the dark night beyond, "Give his Lordship my regards and tell him I'll only need to keep up this charade a little long. We're very close now."

The white wolf nodded, and then he and his comrade started forward at a leap, breaking into a full-on run straight into the surrounding forest. The turtles were barely able to hang on, and would've slipped off if they hadn't been such well-trained ninjas.

Even though they weren't completely healed, their bodies still knew how to adjust to the sudden shift of their bodyweight. Leo and Raph each grasped the wolves' long neck fur and, catching a firm hold with their legs against the saddlebags, leaned into the wind as the wolves raced forward into the deepening woods.

'I can't believe this!' thought Leo to himself, 'I can't believe we're practically getting abducted and that we're actually going along with it!' He looked over at Raphael.

Raph was watching the way ahead, at least for the moment, then he stole a glance over at his big brother, and Leo realized he couldn't read Raph's expression.

The massive Manor was beginning to become shrouded behind the gathering treetops, and Leo took one more look at it over his shoulder. He frowned worriedly. 'Mikey… Donnie…'

* * *

Mikey was the first to notice Raph and Leo were gone. He'd rolled over, reaching out for Leo's reassuring presence, and had met only the cold fabric of the blankets. Now his eyes were open and he could see that one half the bed was completely empty.

Michelangelo sat bolt upright and quickly looked around, hoping to see his big brothers somewhere in the room, maybe doing their morning stretches or something. But, they weren't.

In the dim light coming in around the windows, Mikey could clearly see that he and Don were the chamber's only occupants. "Donnie!" Mike squeaked, and turned, shoving his hands against Donatello's shell.

"_Mmhh_-aw, _no_ Mikey," muttered Don, trying to push Michelangelo away, "I'll fix whatever you broke _later_. Just go read your comic books or something."

Mikey's faced flushed with anger. "_Donatello_!" he screamed, and pushed his purple-masked brother right out of the bed.

"_Ah_—!" Don hit the floor with a hard thud; he sat up with an angry glare.

"_Dude_ Donnie!" whined Mikey, spreading his arms out, "We're not at home! Look around!"

Don was taken aback to realize how dumb he'd just acted; everything came flooding back in nanosecond and he almost gasped. "Oh shoot," he cast his gaze to the floor, "I can't believe… I thought—"

"None of that's important right now." interrupted Mike, and moved to the side; he held his hands open towards the otherwise empty bed, "Raph and Leo are gone."

Donnie's eyes widened as he stood, and his gaze swept the room just as Mikey's had. "Where? _When_?"

"Dude, why do you think I woke you up?! I don't know _where_ they are, they were just gone when I woke up."

Donnie felt a sudden sickening dread. He turned, quickly throwing open the curtains to both windows; the light of the sun flooded in. Again, Donnie looked around the room. "Okay, let's not panic. Look under the bed while I check these windows."

Donatello rattled the window latches while Mikey got down by the bedside with a rather dubious expression on his face. "Dude, why would they be under the bed?"

"I don't _know_ Mikey, we're just ruling everything out!"

Michelangelo peered into the gloom under the bed and saw a square shape way in the back by the wall. He frowned curiously and got down on his belly, scooting in far enough to reach it. "Our bros aren't under the bed," he said, backing out, "But _this_ was." He dragged out a large ornate case that had a little sliding latch.

Don came over, giving the case a momentary glance before frowning. "We don't have time for stuff like that Mikey, we've got to find out what happened to Leo and Raph!"

"I _know_!" snapped Mike, rising and plopping the case onto the bed. "Okay, one thing's for sure: they're not here! Maybe—" He stopped suddenly, and his eyes widened as something new and awful occurred to him. Donatello read his expression and they both felt a sudden chill. "You don't think," began Mikey, swallowing, "You don't think that freak Aztragus came up through the floor like he did last time and _t_-_took_ them, do you? While we were all asleep?"

Don opened his mouth to speak, but hesitated. "If that _is_ what happened, why didn't Aztragus take us too?" Don's argument was weak, and Mike knew it.

"Dude, where is your _brain_? He already labeled us as being _special_. We've got those element thingies, whatever they are, and he'd probably get in trouble with the Lady for messin' with us — you heard her tell 'im we were priceless."

"But then what further use would Raph and Leo be to him if he's already determined that they _don't_ having the elements?" Donatello's question hung in the air, and as he and Mikey looked squarely at one another, their brows creased, and they both felt an even greater chill. They shot their gazes over to the chamber door.

"We've gotta shake somebody's monkey tree." stated Michelangelo. He leapt over the corner of the bed and headed straight for the chamber door with Donnie right beside him.

The door wouldn't open, so they both immediately began to assail it with blows from their feet and fists, bellowing for someone to come. Only one thing was clear in their minds: Someone _would_ come, and no matter what, they would find out what'd happened to their big brothers.

* * *

It had taken longer than expected to get beyond the boundaries of the Lady's land, but the two wolves and the two turtles had made it out of Aztragus' reach just before sunrise.

They were now resting on land the wolves were calling The Partitions, strips of forested grassland that'd been purposefully left unclaimed so that the comings and goings of the land owners couldn't be detected by their neighbors, seeing as everyone in that world employed a seer or astrologer who could detect such things.

Currently, Leo and Raph were sitting on the trunk of a large dead tree that lay across their path. A few minutes earlier the wolves had decided that they were in need of a break, and so had stopped there beside the fallen tree. They were now going through the provisions Coji had packed while simultaneously gnawing on slabs of jerky they had already found within the bags.

"_Mmm_, tastes good, _eh_ Sangle?" smiled the gray wolf.

The white wolf nodded. "Indeed Treg, the cooks employed by her Ladyship are second to none."

Raph and Leo glanced at one another with half-lidded eyes. Raphael then noticed the look of great unrest sweep over Leonardo's features. "What's the matter, I mean, aside from the obvious?" he asked, snuffing in the direction of their furry abductors.

Leo sighed. "Just… thinking about father. He's probably worried sick about us."

Raphael grunted. "He wouldn't be the only _one_, bro." Raph sighed, looking down at the weedy ground. "I do miss 'im though. And I can't help feeling we'd be a lot better off if he was here."

Raph's comment cut Leo to the quick, yet he nodded slowly. "You're right." said he, feeling a wave of depression black against his heart, "He'd certainly be doing a better job than I am. I mean, since we arrived here I can't help feeling that I've just been letting us get dragged one way and then another." Leo's chest felt heavy with guilt and grief. "Mikey says we should learn from our mistakes. But we can't _learn_ from them if we don't _survive_ them. And I…" He fell silent.

Raph's eyes widened slightly. He absolutely hated Leonardo when he was like this, and he felt cold realizing he'd just helped make him this way. Raphael grit his teeth and gripped Leo's arm. "That's not what I meant when I _said_ that." he hissed.

"Doesn't matter," sighed Leo, "You're still right."

"Yo!" snapped Raph, standing; he unintentionally drew the attention of the wolves, "The last thing I need is for you to get into one of your crazy funks Leo! This situation is hard enough without you addin' your I'm-a-loser-brain mantra to it, okay?! So get your act together, otherwise we're not gettin' out of this one alive!"

Leonardo looked up at Raphael, and they stared long and hard into each other's narrowed eyes. The wolves blinked at this curious display; they weren't sure if the sparking energy they sensed passing between the turtles was good or bad, so they rose and approached them.

"What is the meaning of this exchange?" asked Sangle, the white wolf.

Raph rounded on him. "Hey flea-bag! Keep your nose outta our business! This ain't got nothin' t'do wit' you!"

The gray wolf snarled at the turtle's insolence, and attacked. Raphael gasped as he and the wolf sailed clean over the dead tree and crashed down on the other side.

"Raph!" screamed Leo. "Treg!" barked Sangle.

Treg straddled the turtle, pinning Raphael's arms beneath his shins. "Impudent shell-back!" he snarled, seizing the turtle's throat, "I'll teach you respect for us Kaynens!"

Sangle had been about to jump forward and stop his comrade, but Leonardo was already way ahead of him. The blue-masked turtle launched forward, swinging a large dense tree branch straight into Treg's head. The wolf yelped like a whipped dog, but the blow did _not_ move him off Raph.

Anticipating this, Leo instantly drove the narrow end of the tree limb into the ground on the far side of Raphael, and vaulted straight over the wolf. The branch caught against Treg's neck, and the leverage of Leo's weight brought the gray wolf down onto his side with a thud!

Leonardo got on Treg's shoulder, shoving the dead branch down hard against the side of the wolf's throat. "Move and I'll break your neck!" he bellowed. Raphael scrambled backward and stood, even as Treg loosed a ferocious growl.

"I think not." said Sangle, grabbing the top of Leo's carapace. Leo gasped in fright as he was lifted away from Treg and immediately swung the branch at Sangle's face. But the white wolf easily caught the dead tree limb and yanked it from the turtle's grasp.

Holding his hand against his bruised throat, Raphael suddenly sucked in his breath as Treg bounded up and made to attack his brother. Sangle caught his comrade's long chest fur at the last possible second and shoved him backward, holding him at arm's length. "Calm yourself Treg!" commanded Sangle, "It will do our world no good to kill these two."

"Yes!" howled Treg, "But that doesn't change the fact that I want to shred their flesh and gnaw their bones!"

"_Indeed_." said the white wolf, "But you spoke of teaching them respect. How can they _show_ respect to us if they are dead?" Sangle said this, shoving his comrade back, away from the turtles.

Treg put his ears back, growling, yet lowered his head in acceptance. Sangle took a breath before turning his attention to Leonardo whom he had not yet released. The white wolf's furry face was now creased with curious amusement. "You attacked a Kaynen without hesitating. That is something I have never seen."

Leo blinked uneasily. "He was going to kill my brother, I had to stop him."

"Few have ever stopped us." replied Sangle, matter-o-factly. He paused suddenly, hesitating to carry on with his natural inclination to discover more about the creature he held, for now he was extremely curious as to what exactly a turtle was.

But there was an issue of time — the world was fast approaching its end, and his master needed the two turtles as soon as possible. Still Sangle did not release Leonardo, for something deep inside him told him he needed to '_learn.'_

The white wolf turned quickly to his gray-furred comrade. "Treg, do you think we have time to learn these turtles?"

Treg's ears perked up and he came forward "You want to learn _them_?" he asked, seeming surprised, "Why? Are we going to be hunting them?"

Raphael was frowning; this talk was making him ill at ease. Sangle looked down into Leo's nervous eyes. "I have a feeling it will become necessary." he answered.

"Well then," said Treg, shifting his narrowed eyes toward Raph, "I suppose there _is_ time."

There was a sudden blur of motion. Raph and Leo sucked in their breath, for the next thing they knew the wolves had pushed them down onto their backs against the ground. "What're you doing?!" yelled the turtles, wriggling in the wolves' clutches.

"We are not going to hurt you." said the white wolf as he began to sniff Leonardo. Leo cringed and squirmed, and looked over, seeing Treg was doing the same thing to Raph. Leo couldn't believe Raphael wasn't ranting and raving, yet as he looked closer he could tell from Raph's face that he indeed wanted to but was actually holding back. This was wise and not entirely unexpected for Raphael had learned that the wolf who held him had very little _if any_ self-control when it came to insults.

Leo froze all at once, for Sangle's rough tongue had suddenly come up against his neck and cheek. Leo jerked his eyes to the wolf's face. "_What was that for?_"

"Hey!" barked Raph, as Treg began licking him as well.

"This is how we learn," explained Sangle, "We know the world through smell and taste which in turn aids our vision, and makes our perspective of things complete. Your kind is unknown in this world, and therefore your smell and taste and even the sight of you is something new to us. So please, you must bear with us."

Raphael grit his teeth, lip curling as he cringed with repulsion; Treg was practically giving him a tongue bath and was currently working on his arms. "Hey!" spouted Raph, "I _know_ how to take a bath! I don't need _your_ pukin' tongue givin' me one!" Treg only laughed and continued pulling his tongue along Raph's skin, enjoying the wonderous flavor.

Leonardo grit his teeth, moving his eyes from Raph back to Sangle. Unlike his gray-furred comrade, Sangle was quite methodic about the whole procedure. While Leo's overall comfort was not among his top considerations, it went against Sangle's cred to be excessive in anything and therefore he licked Leo only as necessary—which was very little. Indeed, the Kaynen found a great deal more of what he needed to know in Leonardo's scent and proceeded to sniff him from head to toe.

"_Let go'a me_!" came Raph's shout. Leo looked over again seeing Treg had just seized Raphael's ankles. Jerking him closer, Treg then raised Raph's legs up to his face and started licking them. "_What the shell?!_" yelped the turtle in red, wildly trying to kick and free himself; but Treg's grip was too strong. Raph tried to sit up, but every time he did Treg would pull his legs straight up, forcing Raph to fall back onto his carapace.

Quickly Leo looked up at Sangle, wondering why he seemed oblivious to Treg's actions. Tensing, Leo jerked his eyes back to the sight of his struggling brother; he didn't know how to help Raph.

Raphael's heart was pounding and he was desperately looking around for some rock or stick he could throw at the beast, for this licking—he couldn't take it anymore. "_STOP IT!_" he screamed.

Only then did Sangle look over, and when he did, he frowned. At once he gave a sharp bark that got Treg to pull his tongue back into his mouth and glance over. "Treg," growled Sangle, "You are being brutally excessive."

The gray-wolf grinned wickedly, his eyes lit with menace. "I know, but he tastes SO good. I was imagining what it would be like to _eat_ him."

A chilling fear seized Raph as the wolf then opened his mouth and scrapped his fangs against his skin. "_No_!" called Leo.

Sangle's golden eyes narrowed sharply. "Do not force me to pin you down with my teeth, Treg." Treg's tail stopped wagging, and he looked over at his white-furred comrade rather stunned. "You have learned _enough_." snorted Sangle, "Let the turtle up!"

Raphael's face creased angrily and he jerked at his lower limbs even while Treg continued to hold them. "You HEARD _him_." he spat, being finally able to sit up.

Treg frowned; he opened his paws, letting Raph's legs drop to the ground. Leo allowed himself to release the breath he'd been holding. Coolly Treg sat back but did not rise to his feet; instead he kept his sharp eyes on the red-masked turtle.

Raph snorted as he glared up at the smug wolf. He stood, then looking down at himself with disgust. "Stinkin' _dog_ slobber." he growled, trying to brush himself off. Treg frowned darkly. Then, just as Raph took a step away from Treg he stopped and looked back with eyes narrowed to slits. The gray wolf raised a curious eyebrow — and yelped sharply as Raph spun a round-house kick straight into his face.

Sangle gaped, as did Leo, for the blow had knocked Treg flat against the ground. "HA!" bragged Raph, pointing as he backed away, "That's for not keepin' your slimy tongue to yourself, _flea-bag_!"

Treg snarled and bounded up, but Raphael had already sprinted over to Leo and Sangle. Raph then spun, facing Treg with raised fists. The white wolf snorted, still amazed and amused by both the turtles' pluck and cheek. "Never in my life…" he chuckled and sat back, shaking his furry head; he cleared his throat after a moment and addressed his angry comrade. "Go gather the provisions Treg." he told him, "It's time we made ready to leave."

Treg finally took his wrathful eyes from Raph and directed a curt nod toward Sangle; he was soon on the other side of the dead tree. "Man," Leo sat up, grinning at Raph, "_I'm_ impressed."

Raph was about to take the complement when he saw Sangle push Leo back down. "I haven't finished learning you yet." said he. Raphael's fists hardened.

"What could you possibly have left to learn?" whined Leo.

"I must see your shell." Sangle caught the edge of Leo's shell and turned him over on his stomach; Leonardo moaned tiredly. Raphael grit his teeth as the wolf began running the pads of his paw-hand across his big brother's carapace.

Committing the shell's rough texture to memory, Sangle then leaned down to taste it. Raphael felt like looking away, for the sight greatly disturbed him. "Hmm," mused the white wolf, "Your shells taste very similar to bone."

Leo pulled his hands into fists. "Yes, _fascinating_. Is there anything else you need to know about me?"

Sangle turned Leonardo back over. "No, I am finished." He pulled Leo up into a sitting position, and smiled pleasantly; Leo blinked. The wolf's eyes were piercing and intelligent.

Sangle looked down at Leo's plastron. "It is intriguing that your kind naturally comes so well armored. But then, I suppose the Maker had to do something for you in order to make up for your size, and lack of claws and fangs."

Leo's brow hardened, and Raph would have said something if Leo hadn't spoken first. "No disrespect, but I think we proved we don't _need_ teeth or claws to pull off successful attacks against _you_." Raphael nodded with satisfaction, smiling cockily.

But Sangle stopped smiling. The turtles felt a slight twinge of fear at seeing this, but instead of becoming angry, the white wolf simply brought his head down in a single nod. "In that, you are not incorrect." said he, and rose. Sangle moved to join Treg on the other side of the fallen trunk, for indeed there was a small matter to be discussed.

Leo made to stand and Raph quickly helped him, pulling him right up and onto his feet. "You okay bro?" asked Raph.

_"Me?"_ spluttered Leo, "Are _you_ okay? I mean after that wolf _mauled_ you."

"Ah, just some bruises and spit," grumbled Raph, brushing himself off again, more as a guesture than anything , "Nothing a dip in some good clean water won't fix." He looked sidelong at the wolves over yonder. "S'pose they found out everything they needed to know 'bout us."

Leo looked at the Kaynens. "Yeah, except I'm more concerned about _why_ they did it. The gray one said something about having to hunt us?"

Raph's features hardened. "Yeah... I don't exactly relish the idea of feeling those jaws around my neck." He briefly touched his throat.

"_Turtles_," came Sangle's voice; Leo and Raph perked up, watching the wolf as he came back over the fallen tree towards them, "It has been decided that you shall both ride with me."

The turtles could see Treg was now carrying both saddlebags around his waist. Sangle came right up to Raph and Leo, and they both took a tentative step backward before seeing the wolf turn aside and go down on all fours. "Mount up." ordered Sangle, "It's time we moved on."

The green-skinned brothers looked at one another, hesitating.

Treg snarled impatiently, and barking, pointed at the two terrapins. "_Do_ it or I'll put you on myself!"

Leonardo and Raphael jerked slightly, then glared; they moved up to Sangle and swung their legs up across his wide furry back. Leo was in front, and grasped Sangle's long white hair between his fingers; he glanced back over his shoulder as Raph settled on behind him. "Hold on." said Leo.

Raph put his arms 'round Leo's chest just as Sangle bolted forward; the turtles gasped, tensing as they held on for dear life. Sangle raced forward with such speed the turtle felt as though they'd been shot from a cannon.

Raphael glanced over, and saw that Treg was running along side like a swift gray shadow; yet, as he continued to watch, he saw the gray wolf was starting to move away. And Treg continued to put distance between himself and them until, quite soon, he was running amongst the trees in the distance.

Raphael poked Leo in the shoulder and pointed; Leonardo nodded. They both looked back toward the distant trees, but suddenly realized they could no longer see the gray wolf. Raph didn't understand what Treg was doing; he had run along side Sangle for the entire first part of the journey — what was he doing now?

Sangle continued to speed forward, faster and faster, as if trying to make up for all their lost time at once. Quite soon Raph realized Leo was prodding him in the thigh. When Leo finally caught Raph's eye, he pointed away in the opposite direction they had been looking before. Treg was now running through the distant trees on the other side.

"What's he doing?" called Raph.

"He is our scout," answered Sangle out of the blue, "He is shadowing us to ensure that no one is following."

The turtles frowned confusedly. "There's a danger of being followed?" quizzed Leo, "By who, or _what_?"

Sangle did not answer. And still they ran on.

[][][][][][][][][]*[][][][][][][][][]*[][][][][][][][][]*[][][][][][][][][]

Shoot! Won't somebody draw a dramatic picture of Raph and Leo riding the white wolf?! Man, I'd love to see that! XD


	5. Devil of the Hollow Plain

Welcome to Chapter 5! The only reason you're seeing it here now is because several readers inquired about it. I was happy to realize people still wanted to read this tale, and felt encouraged enough to continue writing. ^_^ (I had somewhat given up, at least for the moment.) So thank you for supporting and encouraging me everyone! ^.^  
And, as always, I do thank God - for without Him I could not write at all. X3  
Enjoy what follows!

* * *

**Chapter 5: Devil of the Hollow Plain**

Donatello and Michelangelo were not happy. Thus far, every human they had addressed about their brothers' whereabouts claimed ignorance. As one might expect, it wasn't long before they had created such a ruckus amongst the hall guards that they were soon brought to see the Lady in the Grand Hall.

"I was told you wanted to see me." said IraVana, taking a seat in her magnificent chair; Mike and Don were standing in the sunken area below.

"Got that right, sister!" barked Mikey.

"_Mike_," said Donnie; he briefly raised his palm toward his baby brother, signaling he should let him do the talking. Don turned back, training his eyes on the woman. "We want to know where our brothers are." said he, brusquely.

IraVana blinked, looking confused. "What are you talking about?"

Donnie looked suddenly perturbed. "They were removed without warning from the chamber we were given to rest in. Why?"

The Lady's face creased perplexedly. "What do you mean? The last report I received about the four of you was that you were all still asleep."

Mikey took a quick step forward. "Yeah well, when we woke up our big brothers were _gone_. I mean _seriously_ dudette, they didn't just walk off! The door was locked tight!"

"That's right," said Donatello, "Now, I ask you again: where _are_ they?"

The Lady looked almost offended. "I gave _no_ order for them to be removed. If they are now missing, it isn't by _my_ hand."

Donnie folded his arms, looking snide all at once. "Oh? Surely nothing goes on in this great big Manor of yours that you don't know about."

IraVana narrowed her eyes; she disliked the turtle's disdain. Yet she moved her eyes suddenly to Michelangelo as he began pulling at Donatello's arm. "Dude," said Mikey, "It's _gotta_ be that freak Aztragus! He took us before without her knowing! He's probably done it again!"

Don nodded at Mikey; he'd figured the vile astrologer was behind Raph and Leo's disappearance, he'd just wanted to make sure the man hadn't acted on the Lady's orders. In truth, Donatello could see the woman was genuinely ignorant, and the look on her face told him she was both angered and troubled that the astrological alchemist might be operating without her consent yet again.

'He's starting to act of his own accord.' thought she to herself, 'But _why_? And why _now_?'

"We want our weapons back." stated Donnie, out of the blue.

IraVana raised an eyebrow. "What? What _weapons_?"

"We had weapons before we were first brought to you. Your guardsmen took them. Now we want them back."

"Weapons—?" the Lady looked down at the two turtles with eyes rounded in surprise, "You carried weapons? Are you warriors?"

Mikey and Donnie looked at one another in shear disbelief; Mike's eyes snapped back to the Lady. "Well like _no duh_ dudette!" he sounded, "What did you think, all these awesome muscles were from pickin' flowers?" He flexed his bicep.

Don gave Mikey a slightly dismissive shove. "We'd like our weapons _now_ please. If Aztragus has our brothers we can't afford to waste any more time."

The Lady was a tad unsure, but couldn't think of a decent reason to object. As a result, she called over to the nearest guard, a man who just happened to have been a part of Winsul's troop the day the turtles were captured.

"Go, fetch them what is theirs." ordered the Lady. The guard nodded and turned away; Michelangelo and Donatello watched him until he had passed out of the room. When they returned their eyes to the Lady however, they saw she was not looking at them. In truth, IraVana was consumed in thought; she couldn't understand what the alchemist could possibly want with creatures he himself had designated as worthless.

But then, it was common knowledge that every so many months Aztragus would, for whatever reason, become suddenly feverish. He would send everyone away from him, including Coji, and then lock himself behind the door to his stronghold. Anyone daring to linger nearby would then hear the agonized cries of whatever helpless creature he had managed to get his hands on as he brought a slow end to its life.

No one understood why Aztragus had such sadistic fits, but all the Manor servants were convinced he was wickedly insane and were constantly on the lookout for signs that he was becoming fevered.

Because the servants feared and despised him so, the guardsmen made a special effort to warn them whenever they saw the wicked man beyond the Manor walls, a sign that he was searching for more prey. Indeed, this warning allowed the servants to avoid both Aztragus and his section of the Manor, for whenever the alchemist was seen on the prowl, everyone knew what was to come and it chilled them to the bone — everyone, that is, except perhaps the Lady IraVana.

To her discredit, the Lady had never really cared what Aztragus did in his spare time so long as he fulfilled his duties as Head Astrologer, which he always had. Now however, IraVana was beginning to wonder if ignoring the man's hideous behavior was a mistake. She thought of the two missing turtles, the one in red and the one in blue — he'd been ruthlessly cruel to both of them, more so than the other two.

'Has he now graduated to man-beasts?' she wondered. This made her suddenly anxious, for if he was now delighting in the torment of man-like animals, surly humans would be next.

IraVana came abruptly out of her thoughts, and realized Mikey and Donnie were staring at her strangely. She felt slightly embarrassed and cleared her throat, asking: "What will you do if Aztragus does not have your brothers?"

The pair looked wide-eyed at one another. Don swallowed before looking back up at the woman. "Unlikely as that seems, I don't know. I guess we would start searching the Manor. I mean, someone _has_ to know something about what's happened to them."

"Search the Manor?" scoffed IraVana, as she sat back, "Do you know how _big_ the Manor is? To search the entirety of it would take at least a week. And you only have a few hours before we have to start getting you ready."

The two ninjas stood suddenly straighter. "Ready? _For what?_"

The Lady smiled. "For the gala of course. Tonight, everyone in the country will be coming here—to see _you_." The orange and purple masked turtles looked utterly shocked. "Indeed," continued the Lady, "While you were sleeping, we kept ourselves quite busy ensuring everyone was informed about your arrival. After all, you have been long-awaited, and the fact that the Elements have at last chosen their Vessels is indeed a festal occasion, and deserving of much celebration."

"B-but—! The entire country?! How many people is _that_? How big is the country?"

"Never you mind." countered the Lady, for the guard she had sent away was now returning. "Your weapons are here now."

The guard came up to Donnie and Mikey, and held the weapons out to them; not knowing whose was whose, the man had brought them all. Yet as Donnie looked, he saw that there was only one each of Leo and Raph's weapons; he looked up angrily. "Where are the other sword and sai?"

The man looked confused. "There _were_ no others. When we took your weapons that day, this is all there was."

Don's brow creased. "I think he's telling the truth," said Mikey, "I mean, I think I remember Raph fighting with only one sai." Donnie tried to think back, but it wasn't easy considering how much had happened in the past two days; he finally nodded. "I think your right," Donatello quickly pulled Leo's sword sash over his shoulder.

"Dude," began Mike, "How come you get to carry Leo's katana?"

Donnie rolled his eyes. "'cause until we find them, I'm the _oldest._"

Michelangelo frowned, but Don didn't pay any attention for he was already tightening his grip around his bō staff. He cracked a smile: it felt good having it in his hands again.

Mikey looked down at his own nunchakus, and Lady IraVana watched as he suddenly swung them around with an expert's ease before shoving them with a deft motion into his belt. That's when Donatello shoved Raph's sai into Mikey's hands. "Here!" said Don; Mikey smiled, "Now come on!" They started out of the sunken area.

"So you know the way to Aztragus' chamber then?" came the Lady's voice, causing them both to stop. Donnie hesitated, looking suddenly unsure. The Lady smiled, then called forward another guardsman to join the first. "The Elements' Vessels wish to see Aztragus, I want you to show them the way. Do as they tell you, inasmuch as their commands do not go against my own."

The guards nodded and moved up to the turtles; the expressions on the faces of the men seemed almost intrigued. "Come, we will show you the way."

Mikey and Donnie quickly followed the men through the Hall's side outlet, and were soon hurrying through a maze of lengthy hallways.

"Hey Don," said Mikey, out of the blue.

"Yeah?"

"You know that lady said there's going to be a party tonight,"

"Mm-hmm," Donatello glanced over.

"Well, she said something about the party being 'festal.' What's _festal_?"

They came to a flight of stairs, and started up. "An occasion worthy of a great feast." replied Donnie.

Mikey looked suddenly worried. "I was afraid it was something like that."

Don raised an eyebrow. "Why? What's wrong with that?"

"It's just… I had an awful thought."

"About what?" Donatello was becoming worried himself.

"You… You don't think they're going to eat us tonight, do you?"

Donnie started, almost breaking his stride. "What?! Why would you say something like that?"

The group reached the top of the stairs and turned a corner; the area was starting to look more familiar.

"Well, it's supposed to be a big party with a big feast, isn't it?" continued Mikey, "And she said everyone was comin' to see us! What if she meant _on platters_? After all, she said something about having to get us ready!"

The two guards glanced back at the turtles even as they continued to lead them; they then glanced at one another, adopting very jocose expressions.

Donatello shook his head. "Mikey, she said the whole country's coming. There wouldn't be enough of us to go around. Besides, speaking totally as if I weren't myself, there's no way we'd be cooked in time for the party. We're safe."

"_Yeah_, that's only if they're not sushi people who like to eat everything raw!" countered Mike.

"After all the cooked food they brought _us_ to eat? I don't think so."

"Yeah well, forget everybody else!" snapped Michelangelo, "What if the head lady's the only one who's supposed to eat us? They all told us she needs to use the elements that're inside us! What if the only way she can get to 'em is to scarf us down like a hot-n-ready pizza?!"

Don briefly tossed his eyes toward the ceiling. "That's stupid Mikey! She's _not_ going to eat us!"

"You don't know that!"

"_I'm not having this conversation anymore._" growled Donatello.

The guards came to a sudden halt, bringing the turtles up hard; the men then stood to either side. "Here." they said, indicating a door in the forward wall.

Donnie had seen the outside of the door twice before, and his face hardened, for it indeed led into Aztragus' stronghold. "Besides," said Don, taking his bō staff in both of his fists, "We've got our own fish to fry."

–—–

Aztragus was arranging several bottles of dark liquid along one low shelf when he heard a knock at his door. "See who it is." he grumbled at Coji. Coji frowned, but hopped down from where he was sitting and went down the short steps to the door. He'd no sooner raised the latch when the door banged into him. He sprawled flat against the floor.

Mike and Don jumped in with faces fierce and eyes aflame. They gave the boy only a momentary glance before jerking their attention toward the astrologer, who had just then spotted them. Aztragus eyes became round at the sight of them and he smiled delightedly; he came towards them even as they charged at him.

Mikey swung his nunchakus straight at the man's head with a deliberate lack of speed. This forced Aztragus to duck, allowing Donatello to come from below and ram the breadth of his bō straight into the man's chest, driving him up against the wall.

"_Where are our brothers?!_" bellowed Don, in a voice that shook the room.

Coji stared over at the scene, even as the two guards that'd accompanied the turtles entered the room staring likewise. 'Oh no,' thought the boy, '_No_! This is so bad!' Still, the three looked on, not daring to approach Aztragus and the enraged turtles.

Pinned up against the wall, Aztragus was at first silent; he stared down at the two wrathful terrapins, looking from Don to Mike, then back again.

"Well?!" growled Donatello, shoving his bō harder against the fiend.

Aztragus narrowed his eyes, even as he winced slightly from the pressure of the weapon across his chest. "I don't know what you're talking about." was what he said. But his answer was too cool, too simple; it enraged Donatello.

"_Like we'd believe a word you said!_" roared Donnie, suddenly sweeping the man's legs out from under him; the astrologer crashed to the floor. Mikey's eyes widened as Don then reached for the hilt of Leo's katana, and drew it forth.

"No wait!" cried Coji, running up onto the second level and grabbing Donnie's arm, "He's telling the truth! Your brothers aren't here!"

Don gritted his teeth. "We have no reason to believe you either!" he snapped, trying to shake the boy off.

Michelangelo's eyes suddenly sprang wide. "Look out!" he cried, as a shower of gray dust came flying at them.

Coji whipped away, covering his mouth and eyes. Mikey tried to yank Donnie away, but the air became saturated with powder as Aztragus sprang up, throwing gobs of the dust at them hand-over-fist.

The two guardsmen came up onto the second level to better see what was happening, but swiftly retreated as a cloud billowed up around the turtles.

Both Don and Mike were able to shut their eyes tight against the dust, but only Donnie was able to hold his breath. Already Michelangelo was choking and coughing. Donatello clenched his jaw; he quickly put Leo's sword back and reached out, finding Mikey's wrist.

With eyes still shut, Donnie tried to lead Mike from the dust cloud using his staff to feel the way. But Aztragus was watching for them, and just as the turtles emerged from the settling powder cloud he came at them, grabbing hold of Donatello's bō.

Don gasped breathlessly and instantly released Mikey, gripping his staff with both hands. "Donnie?!" cried Michelangelo, coughing and trying to wipe the dust from his face. Unfortunately, Donatello could not do the same.

The alchemist loosed a fiendish smile and started jerking Don towards the far corner of the room; he leaned in close to Donatello's face. "I'm glad you came to me," he breathed, "It's saved me the trouble of coming after you."

This statement infuriated Donatello. With a flaming rage sparking in his chest, Don clenched his bō staff in his fists and lurched backward. Aztragus was momentarily pulled off balance, allowing Donnie to swing the end of his staff straight up against the astrologer's head. The vile man yelped in pain, but did not let go. So Don yanked back again, driving a kick straight into the man's gut.

_All_ this Donnie had done with his eyes closed, and when Aztragus released his grip, Don felt a swell of satisfaction at the sound of the winded alchemist hitting the floor, gasping and wheezing for breath.

"Donnie!" Mikey spluttered, and Don felt his little brother take hold of him. "Come on!" he coughed.

Don began wiping the dust from his eyes as Mikey pulled him towards the short steps. "We can't leave!" called Donnie, trying to open his eyes, "What about Raph and Leo?!"

The turtle in orange stopped, concern reflected in his eyes. "I-I don't _know_."

Coji ran up to them again. "I tell you they're not _here_!" he cried.

"You're all liars!" snapped Donatello, trying to blink passed the tears now blurring his eyes, "What've you done with them?!"

Don suddenly felt Michelangelo lurch up against him, awkwardly unbalanced. Yet even before Donnie could turn to see why, Mikey had fallen to the floor beside him. "Mikey!" cried Don. He set aside his bō staff as he got down beside his baby brother. "Mikey, what's wrong_?_"

Michelangelo cringed. "Can't—" he was saying, "Can't..!" Mikey felt suddenly frightened, for he couldn't get his eyes to stay open. "_Donnie_—!" he mewled, latching onto his brother.

"It must be that powder!" growled Donatello.

The two guards that'd accompanied Don and Mike came forward. "What is it?" they asked Coji, "What has he done to them?"

The boy swiped his thumb briefly along Donnie's dusty arm, gaining a glare from the turtle; the boy tasted the residue. "It's just devasus." he replied, "It puts all man-beasts to sleep. Obviously the one in orange inhaled a good deal more." Coji knelt to inspect the fast-fading Michelangelo, but Donatello slapped his hands away. "Don't _touch_ him." he snarled.

Coji frowned, more out of concern than anger, and rose backing away. He heard a sound yonder, and glanced over in Aztragus' direction; he swallowed hard, for his pretend master was already staggering to his feet.

Donatello tensed, almost shivering at the realization that Aztragus was up and moving again. "_Come on Mikey_." he coaxed urgently. He sat Michelangelo up, pulling his arm across his shoulders. Donnie then stood and started down the steps with difficulty, for indeed, Mikey was clinging to him awkwardly.

Aztragus lumbered forward, coming towards them with a dagger in his fist; he was grinning with wrathful anger. "Where are you going my dear green-skinned pets? Surly you're not retreating so soon?"

The turtles reached the lower lever, and Don turned, snatching up his bō from where he'd set it. He angled it at Aztragus even as the man arrived at the top of the short steps.

"Don't you want to continue?" quizzed the astrologer, daring Donnie to react, "We were having such a spirited confrontation, you and I!"

Donatello jerked his staff toward the astrologer. "Where are Leo and Raph?!"

Aztragus cocked an eyebrow. "You really think I have your brothers don't you?" he chortled, "If I did you would have found them here. But as you can see, they are not. I don't have them, hmmm… but I _will._" He delighted briefly in his maleficent thoughts, then leered at the two turtles before him, "And I shall have you too, one way or another."

Donatello glared daggers and death. But that's the moment when Mikey went totally limp. Don gasped, almost caught off guard, and was forced to widen his stance. "_Mikey_," he groaned as he tightened his grip. Mike had slipped into total unconsciousness

He stole a quick glance at his baby brother, before taking a few uneven steps backward. Fear pounded against Donatello's heart as Aztragus started down the steps after them.

"Stop!" shouted Donnie, raising his bō towards their insane enemy; the man stopped only when the turtle ceased to retreat. Don felt sick with dread, knowing he was in a bad position to defend both himself and Mikey. 'No!' he thought, 'If anything happens to us now, it will all be because of me!'

Aztragus gestured for Don to come to him, and brandished his dagger menacingly. Coji's face creased as he looked at the alchemist. 'He's _crazy_!' he thought, 'It's plain he wants to _kill_ them, but why?! I don't understand it! We've all been looking and waiting for them for so long! They are the hope of this world, without them everything will die! Yet this seems to mean nothing to him!'

The two guardsmen looked at one another — and startled Donnie as they came up beside him. "What can we do to help?" they asked quickly.

Donatello was surprised, remembering only then that the Lady had indeed told the men to do as he bid them. "The door!" Donnie spluttered, jerking his eyes towards the portal, "Open it!"

Aztragus had been so focused on the turtles that for a moment he didn't realize what was happening. He suddenly snapped out of his daze as the door to his stronghold was opened. 'What?'

Coji couldn't help but smile. Donnie started backing towards the open door, practically dragging Michelangelo along beside him. But even as he did so the turtle in purple realized he could feel a sudden fatigue running through his muscles.

'No!' Aztragus came swiftly towards them, forcing Don to swing his bō out wide in order to ward off his sudden advance.

"Stay back!" commanded Don.

One of the guardsmen came to Donnie's side. "I can take him." he said.

Donatello felt suddenly anxious, for he didn't trust _anyone_ with his brothers' well-being; but he realized now was _not_ the time to be picky. Donnie relented, allowing the guard to take Mikey's unconscious form from him. Don then leveled his staff on Aztragus as the guard exited the chamber; the other guard was standing somewhere to the side.

The astrologer was leering acidly, for his prey was slipping through his fingers. Don glared into the villain's face, aware that a part of him wanted to continue the fight; though, another part of him told him he would be a fool to do so. Coji hastened up to the turtle in purple, whispering: "Get out of _here_. The devasus will eventually affect you too."

'Is _that_ what I'm feeling?' wondered Donnie, aware that a slight tremble had started in his body. Donatello backed out, followed by the guard.

Something told Coji he'd better follow. But before he could pass through the door, Aztragus rammed it shut. Coji jerked back in fright. The alchemist was breathing heavily, his head bowed for a moment; he then raised his eyes to the boy. "What - were - you - doing?" he asked through his teeth.

Coji backed away. "W-what do you mean master?"

The black-haired boy suddenly cried out as the man's hand snapped out, seizing the slack in his shirt; he was lifted off the ground. "You were helping them!" shrilled the astrologer.

Coji frowned with gritted teeth. "Yes!" he answered, "Because you _aren't_ master!" he took a breath, "I don't understand! How many people and how many man-beasts have you tested over the years, seeking to find the ones that the Elements would choose to inhabit?! You've found them now, _at long last_. Why now do you want to destroy them, and so horribly?" The alchemist only blinked. "They're here to _save_ us—to, save the world!"

The blade in Aztragus' hand flashed as he brought it up, causing Coji to gasp as its razor's edge pressed against his face. "I know that." replied the wicked fiend. Coji flinched as the blade began to bite into his cheek. "I know that all too well."

* * *

The day was suddenly overcast, or, maybe it was always overcast there.

Raph and Leo narrowed their eyes as they looked around at the rather bleak landscape. There were huge dark-sienna rocks jutting forth from the earth on either side of them, breaking up, in rather dramatic fashion, the endless carpet of matted grass that seemed to roll on for miles all around.

Sangle had brought the two of them down into a broad yet shallow gully rutted into the earth by water. The water however, had ceased to flow some decades before, and now all that existed along the gully floor was weedy grass.

Treg and Sangle had busied themselves making camp, for though it was not quite mid-afternoon, they had indeed run cross-country throughout the night and morning and were now quite worn out.

Still, even though the wolves had begun to settle down, Raph and Leo had not done likewise. Instead, they remained standing, glancing warily about at their surroundings.

Sangle and Treg were eating now, but the apparent restlessness of the two terrapins made the white wolf very uneasy; he looked over at them, eyes narrowing. "Why do you not sit down?" he quizzed.

The question momentarily startled Leo and Raph, and they both frowned. "Because this place gives us the pukin' creeps! _That's_ why!" snapped Raphael.

"Is there no other place to make camp?" asked Leonardo.

"Not that would provide us shelter. It is better that we remain out of sight."

"Yes," began Treg, smiling, "For this is the Hollow Plain. There is no cover here except for the rocks that follow this rut in the earth."

"So _sit_." commanded Sangle, "For it will be several hours yet before we move from here."

Leo and Raph reluctantly accommodated the wolf, and settled down in a narrow niche among the rocks just big enough for the two of them. The rocks were about a foot above their heads when they were standing, so when they sat, the rocky sides made effective walls.

They sat together, watching as the wolves ate. Leo glanced at Raphael as he began to grumble aloud. "Figures the kid wouldn't pack anything in those saddlebags for _us_ to eat." Raphael folded his arms and lent heavily against the rock wall beside him. "Rotten turtle-luck— _always_ runnin' true to form."

Sangle caught Raph's words with a twitch of his ears, and picked up the bag nearest him; he rummaged through it and withdrew something like a large bread bun. "_Here_." he said, tossing it to the terrapins, "We do not eat bread. It must, therefore, be for you."

The turtles blinked with surprise, and quickly divided the bun between them. It was dry yet sweet, and did a fine job of satisfying their hunger.

The afternoon was getting on, but the clouds were gathering in thick gray masses overhead, and a chilly little breeze was beginning to whisper its way through the gully.

Leo shivered as the breeze came around him, and he rubbed his arms to try and warm himself. He noticed Treg was fishing through one of the bags; quite soon the gray wolf withdrew a bundle of fine white rope with knots tied in it every so many inches. The bundle was handed to Sangle who then rose and came towards the turtles.

Tensing like coiled springs, both Leonardo and Raphael leapt to their feet, raising their fists in a fighting-stance. "What do you intend to do with that?" demanded Leo.

Sangle raised an eyebrow. "My comrade and I need rest, and we would prefer not having to seek you out once we had awoken."

Raph glared. "Well, if you think we're just gonna le'cha hog-tie us, you've got another thing comin'!" he snapped.

Sangle smiled; the terrapins never ceased to amuse him. Most creatures were deathly afraid of Kaynens, and wouldn't even _consider_ trying to openly fight them, yet these turtles resisted at every turn. Sangle knew it wasn't because they didn't recognize how dangerous the wolves were, for he could see in their eyes that they understood quite plainly how easily the Kaynens could play havoc with them. Yet still they stood, ready to fight even if it cost them their lives.

Sangle admired their spunk. "I do not intend to harm you. I will not bind you as you might imagine, for with Ene-rope all that is required is a single loop."

Raph and Leo blinked confusedly; then Raph frowned. "Hey, you ain't puttin' no rope around _my_ neck!"

Treg snorted, grinning to himself.

"Not your neck." corrected Sangle, making a loop with the rope, "Here, allow me to demonstrate." He reached out, snagging Leo by the arm. Raph immediately sprang forward to defend his brother but was swiftly caught in the all-too-eager arms of Treg.

"Raph!" called Leo.

Treg grappled with the turtle a moment as he backed away from Leo and Sangle. It was quite apparent however, that Raphael wouldn't be able to strong-arm his way out of the wolf's grasp. Still, he kicked and jerked, and kept trying to hit Treg's face with the back of his head.

The gray wolf sat back against the ground, smiling. "Behave and settle down," said he, eyeing Raph's neck as he pinned the turtle's arms hard to his sides. Obviously, Raphael didn't want to, but, he didn't have a choice.

Seeing Treg was actually behaving, Sangle then barked for Raphael's attention. "Red turtle!" said he, gaining Raph's glare, "Pay attention — I am not going to hurt the blue one." he indicated Leo whose arm he still held, "The Ene-rope is nothing to fear, but to prove this I must show you what it does." Sangle turned to Leonardo. "Please sit." he said, not giving Leo much of a choice.

Once Leo was seated on the ground, the white wolf knelt, taking hold of the turtle's leg. The turtles watched nervously as Sangle then slipped the loop over Leonardo's foot and pulled it tight around his ankle. Raph's eyes widened as Leo suddenly swayed, looking as if he was about to faint.

"Oh man," moaned Leo, touching his hand to his head, "I feel so—"

Raph's heart was starting to thump harder. "What's it doin' to 'im?!"

"Watch," replied Sangle. He then twisted the fine rope around Leo's ankle a few more times. Leo's eyes instantly rolled back in his head and he collapsed back against the ground, limp and unmoving.

Raphael was still for but a second, then he shouted horridly and began violently thrashing around in Treg's arms. "Let him go." instructed Sangle.

Raph jerked free, shoving Treg away as he raced forward, landing on his knees beside Leo. "Leo!" he called, taking hold of his big brother, "Leo!" Leonardo moaned softly, and as Raph looked closer, he could see his brother was breathing evenly, and in fact, looked quite peaceful. Raph jerked his face towards Sangle. "What—?"

"Now, watch." said the white wolf. He took the Ene-rope from Leo's leg altogether, and then instructed that he be shaken.

Raph did so and quite soon Leo opened his sleepy eyes, and looked confused. "Huh..?" Leonardo made to sit up, and Raphael helped him. "What happened?" he asked, rubbing his eyes.

"You fell into a deep sleep." answered Sangle, "That is the power of the Ene-rope. To make certain you will not abscond while we are resting, we shall use this rope to ensure that you sleep likewise."

Raphael was frowning tiredly. 'As if we needed it.' he grumbled in his mind, 'We're already worn out from the trip.' Still a bit droggy, Leo just nodded. "I was dreaming about fire." he said, quietly, "There were flames everywhere, burning." Raph blinked at him, and might've inquired about the fiery dream had Sangle not then stood up.

"Now," said the wolf, "Choose where you want to lay. We are tired, and do not want to put off our sleep any longer."

Raphael was still frowning, but got Leo up onto his feet; together they went back into the niche where they had been sitting before. Quite somnolent, Leo laid down without a fuss and was soon asleep with the Ene-rope around his ankle.

Raph curled his lip as Sangle then looped the other end of the cord and slipped it around his ankle. "Tying us together, huh?" he quizzed.

The white wolf nodded. "I will only use a single loop on the pair of you." he explained, "For that will at least allow you to awaken should the need arise."

Raph's eyes widened a bit. "The_ need_? What, you mean like trouble?"

Sangle didn't answer; he only pulled the loop taut, which caused Raphael to dip with sudden sleepiness just as Leo had. He lay down against the ground, grumpily muttering: "Can't even answer simple questions…" Raph blinked drowsily at his brother, being no more than a foot away from him, and felt a twinge of unease. Why did he feel like something was wrong?

Raphael didn't get to ponder over this for very long, for he closed his eyes and was soon fast asleep.

Sangle was still occupied with the Ene-rope, and tied a longer length of cord to the one stretched between the turtles' ankles. This he held onto as he rose and backed away. Treg was already curling up to sleep. Sangle did likewise keeping hold of the rope even as he settled down. Quite soon, the whole camp was slumbering — and dreaming.

Raphael twitched in his sleep and gave a sudden jerk, for in his dream he found himself in a sea of darkness — all around, an endlessly empty darkness. Raph could see himself, but nothing else. 'Leo.' he thought.

Somehow he had the impression that he was looking for Leonardo, that Leonardo was in peril, though from _what_ he wasn't sure. "Leo!" he called, his voice clear in that vast expanse of blackness. Over and over he called out his brother's name, listening as his shouts echoed into silence.

Suddenly, there was a light — a faint one, as if cast by an old basement bulb that was about to burn out. It was very distant, and seemed to be casting its dim radiance over a small room that had only two walls.

Raph didn't know why, but he suddenly got a sick feeling. He started towards the dimly-lit scene, and as he got nearer, saw that one of his brothers was lying prone on the floor of the room. Raphael could feel his heart starting to pound, for while the face-down turtle wasn't wearing a mask, he could already tell it was Leo.

"Leo!" he called, coming right up to the edge of the two-walled room. Raph stopped himself from reaching out, for something was wrong. He couldn't see any kind of wound on Leo, and yet he'd been hurt—_badly_. Raph didn't know how he was privy to this for there still weren't any signs of injury. But the more he stared the more apparent it became that something was very _very_ wrong.

Slowly Raphael got down, and stretched out his hand. "Leo..?"

As soon as Raph's hand came against Leonardo's skin, Leo gave a sharp wail of despair and jerked violently away, curling into a ball and protectively wrapping his arms around his head.

Raphael was breathless with shock, for his brother was almost whimpering now. "Leo—! Leo it's me!" he said, and reached out again. He managed to pry one of Leo's hands away from his face; hollow soulless eyes stared back. Raphael sucked in his breath.

"R-aph..?" came Leo's voice, being both drained and pained. He blinked, staring at his red-masked sibling, until his eyes suddenly widened. "Get out of here—!" gasped Leo, "You can't let him find you! _Go_—Hurry!"

Raph was thunderstruck. "W-what're you talkin' about?!"

"_Just go!_" Leo wailed desperately, "You can't let him catch you! _You can't!_ Leave, NOW."

Raph grit his teeth; he couldn't believe what he was hearing. "Are you cracked man?!" he barked back, "I _ain't_ leavin' without 'cha! Why d'ya think I'm here?! To save _you_!" He made to lift Leo, but Leo immediately stopped him. And then Raph froze, for something in Leo's empty eyes scared him very much; Leo's lips moved, saying: "_There's nothing left to save._"

Raphael felt a chill like ice take him at the back of the neck. "No…" he said in disbelief, "No..!"

There was a sound. Raph was suddenly aware that something was coming, he could feel it like an approaching storm. Tears were now running from Leo's open eyes. "Please!" he begged, "He's coming! You can't be here! I don't want—! _Please just go!_ GO!"

"But—!" Raph began. Leo responded with a terrible moan as he flopped back in despair, crying as he hid his face against the floor.

And then, it was too late — whatever it was, it was there, looming over them like a living nightmare. Raphael stared upward in horrified shock; then the beast's essence hit him. Raph gasped at the sudden freakish cold—then came the pain.

The beast's monstrous aura rolled outward, rushing over him with the force of a tsunami. It yanked the air out of Raph's lungs and he fell, the spoliating waves crashing over him again and again, the pain becoming worse and worse until Raphael was drowning in agony. He managed to take in a lungful of air, but all he could do with it was scream.

Leo was screaming too. Raph could hear his brother's suffering even above his own. 'No-_no_!' Raphael reached out blindly for his big brother; he reached— And his hand came down hard against the weedy ground. Raph's eyes snapped open.

Panting, Raphael jerked up, realizing, with some shock, that he was still on the ground among the rocks in the gully. 'I fell asleep!' Having been bound up in such a nightmare, Raph felt quite strange returning to wakefulness in the stormy twilight of reality. 'A dream—! Just a dream...!'

But even as the red-masked turtle took a breath to calm himself, he saw that a part of his dream seemed to have lingered, for as he looked around, it became all too apparent that he was the only one still in the niche — the spot where Leo had been sleeping was empty.

A chill suddenly seized his heart. "Leo…" He jerked forward at once, almost tumbling out of the niche, and was startled by the sight of the sleeping wolves; they were curled up soundly, without so much as a twitch. Even Raph's excited stirring hadn't woken them.

Raphael's eyes narrowed as they darted back and forth between the large furry beasts—neither of them had Leo. 'No,' thought Raph as he stood. He quickly scanned the campsite, once, then twice, being afraid his sleepy eyes weren't seeing right. But no, Leo was nowhere.

'This can't be!' thought Raph, 'It can't!' He was about to shout for the wolves to awaken, but suddenly stopped, for the Ene-rope had caught his eye.

His eyes widened, for the end that had been around Leo's ankle was gone —completely. There was only one Ene-loop, and it was still tied around his own ankle. 'That doesn't make sense!' thought Raphael, quickly sitting, 'That wolf tied the other end around Leo's ankle! How can it just be gone?! I wasn't seeing things!'

He grit his teeth, and found enough slack in the rope so Sangle would not be alerted as he removed the rope from his own ankle. As soon as he was free, Raphael scrambled up the rocks and out of the gully.

A gust of wind came against him as he came up onto the matted grass. But even as it tried to push against him, he was not deterred, and instead looked all across the darkening landscape, dim with the fast-approaching night.

The land was almost flat, so it was easy to see for miles all around; there was no sign of Leonardo. Raph felt an anxious fear gripping his innards. He turned back, looking down into the gully, and frowned, following it with his eyes in each direction; he then turned back to the open county-side.

"LEO!" Raph hollered into the fading light. But the wind was against him, throwing his voice back in his face. Raphael growled, and quickly turned, taking a mighty flying leap across to the other side. He landed awkwardly, and almost slid back into the gully; but in his ferocious determination, he scrabbled to his feet and called even louder, hands cupped against the sides of his beak. "LEO!"

Then Raph was hit from behind with a ferocious tackle. He gasped as he crashed painfully into the ground, grunting with the weight of an entire Kaynen on his back. "Did you _really_ think you could escape?" growled Treg, pinning Raph's arms to the ground.

"Stupid – _wolf_!" Raph choked, "Would I really be shoutin' my lungs out – if I was tryin' to escape?!"

Sangle's sharp eyes quickly scanned the landscape. "Where is the other one?" asked Sangle, then giving the red-masked terrapin a nudge with is clawed foot, "Where is the blue turtle?"

"Who d'you think I'm – _lookin' for?!_" shrilled Raphael, wishing Treg would get off his shell, "Look, he was gone when I woke up! We've gotta find 'im! Somethin's happened!"

The white wolf observed Raph, seeing the desperation in his eyes; it was apparent he wasn't lying. Sangle tipped his nose skyward and sniffed the air. "Treg," he said at once, "Take the red turtle back down out of sight and wait at our camp. I will find the other."

"_What_?" gasped Raph. Treg nodded, smiling to himself, and yanked the turtle up from the ground. "No, wait!" sounded Raphael, "You can't–! I mean, _I wanna help!_"

The wolves paused. The white wolf looked back, blinking at the terrapin.

"Please," entreated Raph, "He's my brother! I have to help look for him!"

Sangle sighed, shaking his head. "I understand what you are saying. But _I_ learned your brother. Therefore, out of the three of us, I am the one who will be able to find him the fastest." Sangle then darted away.

"Wait!" hollered Raph, but already the gray wolf's grip was tightening on his arms.

"Come along." said Treg, grinning. And Raphael tensed as he was pulled into the gully.

–—–

Sangle sniffed the air, and the ground. He could smell Leonardo distinctly, but something about the turtle's scent was different, something had changed. And Sangle realized it reminded him of something, something from long ago. 'Why?' he wondered as he started forward, 'Why do I get an odd sensation in my heart every time I try to remember what that smell means, that smell which has somehow changed the shell-back's scent?'

Following the turtle's scent-trail, Sangle came over a rise that led down into a small dale. He raced into the dale, clenching his fangs, and charged up the next hill. Then he stopped, he stopped right in his tracks, for there was a forest before him—a forest he had never seen before.  
It lay black before him, thick and gnarled, unnaturally dark even in the waning light. Sangle frowned at it, pulling his ears back. 'This should _not_ be here.' he thought in his mind, '_No_ forest exists on these barren Plains.'

He approached, slowly, keeping his eyes on the dark-wooded trees. He eyed them for a moment, then carefully sniffed the air; his frown deepened, for he'd caught a whiff of Leonardo's lingering scent—but it was growing fainter.

Sangle took a backward step, and stood upright on his two hind legs. 'The turtle's scent grows fainter when it should be getting stronger.' The white wolf listened, ears twitching, but there was no sound. He loosed a determined snort, and passed into the forest.

He tramped forward, cautious but unafraid, his eyes darting from side to side looking for any sign of life. But there was nothing, no sound or movement save his own.

Eventually the wolf emerged into a clearing, a great wide clearing at the very heart of the black forest. Sangle tensed all at once and retreated a step, his ears flatting against his head. Something about the defoliated area bothered him, even more so than the forest itself.

'What is it?' he wondered, his golden eyes scanning across the great expanse, 'What am I sensing?' But there was nothing—nothing to see, nothing to hear, and nothing to smell—just a great empty space. The white wolf snorted again and looked towards the surrounding woods, narrowing his eyes on their blackened depths. 'That is where I must look.' He went down on all fours again and back in amongst the trees, hurriedly weaving his way through in search of Leo's trail.

But what Sangle didn't realize was the clearing _wasn't_ empty. In fact, there in plain sight, was a massive black platform made of cold hard stone; rising almost 7 feet above the ground and stretching 30 feet on all sides it practically dominated the clearing.

But the wolf hadn't seen it, and neither had he seen Leonardo who was also in the clearing. The turtle in blue stood, staring at the platform; slowly he blinked as if in a daze. He hadn't seen Sangle, just as the wolf hadn't seen him.

Leo's eyes drifted along the width of the platform where stone steps were suddenly protruding from the side. And then, something seemed to snap. Leo winced all at once, and touched his hand to his head; he shook his head after a moment, and opened his eyes as if for the first time.

His eyes widened, and he looked wildly about. 'A forest! W-where am I?' His brow creased as he tried to think; oddly he remembered walking into the forest, but he didn't remember why. A sharp tingle came against his shoulder and he looked back towards the platform. His brow furrowed. "What – is _that_?" he breathed, and turned to face it fully.

Once more Leonardo looked all around before settling his eyes on the steps. He moved towards them, cringing inside. 'No, I shouldn't!' But his foot was already on the first step; he climbed them. And as he reached the top, the entirety of the platform stretched out before him. 'What am I _doing_ here?'

The platform seemed massive, a blot upon the earth that seemed to draw the life out of everything that surrounded it. And as Leo looked down, eyes moving across its black surface, he could see there was a great marked pattern etched into its stone. Leonardo stared at those nearest his feet, and saw that the largest of the designs was a great indented oval; there were four of these, one at the center of each side.

'It looks like…' his brow creased as he knelt to inspect the depression, running his fingers along its edge, 'It looks like that hole, the one that sadistic alchemist made in his slab to put my shell in.'

Leo suddenly tensed; he rose, drawing back, a fearful chill flooding his body. It was only then that he realized it was getting harder to breathe, as though invisible hands had come inside his throat and were slowly choking off his air. He reached towards his neck as if to pry away whatever was there, but nothing was.

'Leave—' he thought, 'I must leave!' He turned to the stairs.

**"_You're not leaving already, are you my little pet?_"**

Leo froze in an instant, standing utterly still.

**"_After all, I've been waiting for you…such a long time_."**

Leo didn't move, Leo didn't breath. And the voice continued to drift toward him like a gentle black tide.

**"_Come now, don't leave. We haven't even been introduced._"**

The sound of that voice, the words felt to Leo like black water curling around him, slowly pooling into a quagmire.

**"_Come, face me. I wish to greet you properly._"**

Fear was swelling in Leo's chest, engulfing his heart. He started to turn, almost involuntarily. From the corner of his eyes, he glimpsed it, a towering figure swathed in black. Leo started as he spun to face it, stifling a gasp.

**"_What my pet, am I really so repulsive?_"**

Leonardo could only stare, seeing bulges beneath the great black mantel that suggested beneath was some living carcass, a body that was nothing more than a mass of bones with thin gray skin stretched over. This was ever so apparent on the exposed hands, the fingers of which were jagged and claw-like. Leaning on a staff made of thorns at the center of the platform, the figure smiled, most of its face being hidden beneath the mantle's hood.

**"_Greetings_ — _Leo_."** it said, with lips thin and black.

Leonardo's eyes widened and he gasped a breath. "What are you?!" he spluttered, finally finding his voice, "How do you know my name?" He winced then, wondering why he was even talking to the wraith.

The figured chuckled, and Leo's head jerked as though he'd been struck.

**"_What a silly question. It doesn't really matter how I know your name now does it? What matters now, is that you've come at last. I am pleased._"**

Leo shivered; he wanted to run away. Why wasn't he running away? "I-I," he tried, "I don't understand what's going on! Who are you?!"

The figure was smiling, a vile smile. **"_You may call me Azmodeus. In this world I am known as the author of all agonies, the wicked defiler. Indeed, it shall please me to demonstrate this for you._"** The figure held its jagged hand out toward the turtle. **"_Come._"**

"_No_—" Leo jerked back, his blood running cold. He could feel a pressure against his skin; the wraith's evil essence was now all around him.

**"_Now now, don't be that way._"** coaxed the figure. And suddenly, Leo could see the wraith's aura like a tangible shadow, emanating from all around it. **"_The outcome will be the same no matter what you do._"** it said,**"_Now, COME._"**

Terror burst against Leo's heart as the radiating shadow became a hundred reaching hands hurtling towards him. With a choking cry, Leo turned for the stairs — and fell clean off the platform's side. The steps had vanished, leaving Leonardo to crash down onto the hard ground below; he yelped in pain, yet still he managed to push himself up onto his hands and knees.

The reaching shadows dissipated immediately, for they had come to the platform's edge. This didn't seem to bother the wraith-like figure though, for it suddenly exploded with wild, hateful laughter.

Leonardo winced, for it hurt to hear, as somehow just its sound alone made him feel degraded, worthless, as though he were less than dirt. He shook his head. With fear gnawing at his innards, Leo struggled forward, trying to rise—but he felt so heavy. 'Have to — get away!'

**"_Are you sure you won't come to me_?"** came the figure's mocking voice, **"_I promise I shall hurt you ever so gently_."**

With a strangled wail, Leo forced himself to his feet and fought his way forward. Still, he could hardly breathe for the air was saturated with evil; the turtle could feel its weight upon him, trying to hold him back. "_No_…" Leo gasped, and pushed forward.

And the farther he went, the easier it became, and the easier it became the faster he moved, until he at last broke _free_ of the malevolent burden that'd been thrust upon him. Leonardo gulped in a lungful of air – and bolted.

The cloaked menace never moved from its spot. It only leant on its thorny staff, watching as the turtle passed into the surrounding forest and disappeared amid the trees. It licked its black lips. **"_Yes, run._"** it said, gloating in its power, **"_Let your fear of me consume you. When next we meet, you shall not be alone. And when I have the four of you _–_at last_– _the world shall break._"**

–—–

Leonardo never looked back. Tears were streaming from his eyes as he tore blindly through the woods. He saw nothing, not even the great white shape flying towards him.

The breath was knocked from Leo's lungs as he was caught in a vicious tackle, and slammed into the ground amongst the underbrush. "There you are!" snarled Sangle, pinning the blue-masked terrapin beneath his massive paws, "Did you really think you could escape us?"

Leonardo squirmed, coughing and gasping for breath; he jerked his face towards the wolf's, "No!" he spluttered between gasps, "He'll get me! We've got to get away!"

Sangle frowned. He took his weight off Leo, but seized his arm roughly and sat him up. "What are you talking about?"

Leo shook his head, "I-I-!", and started coughing again.

Again Sangle paid attention to the turtle's distress, observing his genuine fear and panic; it was obviously not an act. Leo pointed away, back the direction he'd run. "What–?" asked the wolf, "Is there something in the woods?"

"Yes!" Leo cried.

Sangle stared off into the darkness with his keen eyes, sniffing the odious air; he glared, for there was indeed a foul scent, not of odor but of aura. Sangle's ears instinctively fell back against his head.

Then, much to Leo's shock, the wolf picked him up over his shoulder and headed back in the direction of the clearing. "NO! _What're you doing?!_" screamed Leo, in a mindless panic, "Stop! You can't take me back there! He means to ruin me, body and soul! _You can't–!_ Please, STOP!"

Sangle halted at once. With a queer expression on his hairy face, he brought Leo down from his shoulder and held him out before him. "What did you just say?"

Leo was wiggling weakly, fitfully moving his head from side to side. "I don't know," he blubbered, "What _did_ I just say?"

"You said the strangest thing I have ever heard." The wolf then knelt, setting the turtle on the ground. "Speak truthfully: does the creature you speak of, this _thing_ in the forest, does it truly possess the power to defile souls?"

"Yes!" screeched Leo, looking straight up into the wolf's eyes. Sangle stared down, peering into Leonardo's chocolate-brown eyes, so round and full of fear.

"Please," begged Leo, taking a tentative and momentary glance over his shoulder, "Let's get away from here..!"

"Yes," agreed the wolf, and lifted Leo once again. He spun, clutching the terrapin to him, and hastened from the dreadful forest. Sangle did not go down on all fours as one might expect; instead he stayed upright, running with his powerful hind-quarters over the lowland hills to the gully, and their camp.

Sangle's ears jerked abruptly, for a cry and a shout was coming from the gully. The white wolf bared his fangs and raced right up to the edge of the earthen rut; he looked down passed the rocks into the camp.

Raphael was on the ground, laughing and crying at the same time, for indeed, Treg was sitting on his back, gripping his ankles and licking his feet.

"_Stop_!" screamed Raph through his laughter, and was finally able to grab hold of the wolf's wagging tail which was smacking him in the back of the head. He yanked at the gray tail, shouting wrathfully: "Get off me, you–!"

"ENOUGH." howled Sangle, leaping down into the gully.

Treg sprang up, dropping Raph's feet. He took a wary step back as Sangle approached him, glaring sharply. "Quickly." he said, setting Leo down by Raph, "We cannot stay here. Gather our kit together!"

"What?" asked Treg, bewildered.  
Raph angrily rubbed the tears from his eyes before suddenly realizing Leo was there. A smile broke across Raphael's face. "Leo–!" Then he stopped, for his big brother looked almost like a hollow shell, staring as he was towards the ground with half-lidded eyes.

"Leo!" cried Raph, taking hold of his shoulders. Leonardo winced, then bringing his eyes up to Raph's face; his eyes flung wide. Raphael almost gasped as Leo's arms came flying around him; he froze in Leo's embrace, long enough to realize his brother was trembling.

The furrow of Raph's brow deepened. 'What in pukin'_ shell_?' He grasped the edge of Leo's carapace, trying to push him back. His blue-masked brother was clinging to him so tightly it took Raph some effort to pry him away.

The turtle in blue finally pulled back; he lowered his face, hugging his arms as he sat back against the weedy ground. Raphael grit his teeth. He grabbed Leonardo's face, almost causing his older brother to flinch. Raph frowned: Leo's cheeks were damp beneath his palms.

"Leo! Look at me!" He raised Leo's face 'til their eyes were even. Raph's face creased, starkly bewildered. 'This _can't_ be Leo.' he thought to himself. He'd never seen his big brother with tears of mindless fear running from his eyes — except in his nightmare.

"_Man_, what happened?!" asked Raph. He suddenly stopped, taking a moment to glance over at Sangle. "Did—? Did that wolf do somethin' to ya?!"

Leo pulled Raph's hands away from his face. "_No_," he said, jadedly, and moved away from Raph, "No..." He crawled towards the nearest rock and sat, leaning heavily against it.

"I–! But–! Leo! What _happened_?! Where did you go? Why were you gone when I woke up?!"

Leo didn't answer. And before Raphael could try further to get him to respond, Sangle and Treg came up to them. "Come." said the white wolf, "We must leave."

Raph was angry yet he turned appealingly to Sangle. "But what happened to him? Where was he?"

"He was where he should not have been. _Something_ called to him, and ensorcelled, he went."

Raphael's face starkly portrayed his confusion. He might've asked what Sangle meant only the wolf didn't give him the chance; instead Sangle knelt before Leo, looking into his face. "Are you well enough to ride?" he asked.

Leo shook his head, groaning in a very negative tone; at the moment, the thought of clinging to the back of a Kaynen running at full speed was _very_ unappealing to the exhausted turtle.  
"Hmm, assumed as much." Sangle turned to the turtle in red. "You will have to be the anchor."

"Huh?"

Sangle pulled a short bundle the Ene-rope from his saddlebag. "Quickly, bind your brother's hands together." "N–!" "We do not have time to discuss this. You must ride with your brother at your back. Let his bound arms be about your neck or shoulders – this will keep him from falling off. You understand?"

Raph realized he did, and reluctantly nodded.

"Then quickly! We must leave – NOW." Sangle poised himself on all fours.

Raph sighed inwardly before taking hold of Leo's arms, laying one wrist over the other. Leonardo understood what was happening, and therefore did not resist. As soon as Raph wrapped the rope around Leo's forearms, the blue-masked turtle slumped forward, having slipped into slumbering unconsciousness. Raph paused, faced creased with a sad frown; he felt bad having to do this at all.

"Hurry!"

Raph came back to the situation, and turned, putting his back toward Leo; he pulled Leo's arms up over his head and stood, being surprised by Leonardo's dead weight. Raphael then moved up to Sangle's side, seeing only then how hard it would be to get Leo up into position.

Sangle realized this, and begrudgingly lowered himself to the ground. "Well, that helps." said Raph, then shifting to the side. He lifted Leo's leg and set it over the wolf's back before doing likewise; quite soon the two turtles were in place, Raph getting a good grip in Sangle's fur.

"You need another length tied about your midriffs." said Sangle, "Otherwise the motion of his dangling legs will cause him to slip backward. Trust me, I know."

Raph narrowed his eyes. "Hey wait! How am I s'posed to hold on to you with that rope around _me_? Won't I fall asleep too?"

The wolves shook their head. "The Ene-rope will recognize that the greater portion is tied to your brother, and leave you unaffected."

Raph snuffed. And was angered when it was Treg who took another length of rope out and began tying the two of them together. Treg and Raph locked eyes for a moment; Treg only smiled, while Raph glared with enmity.

"Right!" called Sangle, once the terrapins were secured, "Let's move!" He immediately bolted out of the gully, Treg on his heels.

The pair raced fast and hard across the Hollow Plains, keeping the place where the abhorrent black forest lay ever at their backs.  
Raph could see nothing of the dark landscape they were passing over, so instead lowered his eyes to the sight of Sangle beneath him. 'Man, how did we even get here?' he wondered, befuddled by the memories of the past two day.

A slight soft moan came from Leonardo's throat, causing Raph to crane his neck around in order to see his brother's face; Leo looked peaceful enough, for which Raph was grateful considering the turmoil he'd been in moments before.

Raphael's face took on a pained expression. 'I still wish I knew what happened! Leo, what happened to you?' he looked forward, 'Where he wasn't s'posed to be? What's that s'posed to _mean_?'

Raph momentarily remembered his nightmare again, and it chilled him; he shook his head to ward it from his mind. 'No!' he thought. And the group raced on, straight into the blackest night that world had ever seen.


End file.
